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A New Chapter...

(C) Nouvelles Images S.A. Jean-Michel Labat et Florence Rouquette 2006

My daughter has become a mother for the first time in the past year and is having another baby at the end of the year.

For any mother, or father, this is a time of happiness...and reflection  The changing nature of one's child's journey through life encourages thoughts of the past...of  a little girl growing up,  always organised and forward thinking..."Where is our next adventure Mumma?  What are we going to do in our next holiday break?  Mumma I'm going on Rotary Exchange to Japan for two months...Mumma  I ruptured my anterior cruciate ligament skiing in Japan, but I'm not coming home yet... Mumma I am going to go to East Timor as a volunteer with my University, just after the UN arrives,  to teach English at a remote school with the little children...Mumma I'm going to America on University Exchange...Mumma I bungee jumped into Acapulco Bay for my 21st birthday...Mumma I want you to come to the US to meet this wonderful boy...Mumma we are getting married...Mumma I'm going to Sydney with my law firm...Mumma we are getting divorced...Mumma I've fallen in love again...Mumma we are getting married..."

My daughter is a woman for whom I have enormous respect...but she will still always be my little girl.

The road, as they stay, is never straight.  But the concepts of  respect, trust, and consideration for each other are attributes that we as parents can pass onto our children as positive personality characteristics...and genuine foundations for a life shared with love and laughter.
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