Fourteen.

Serene. Beautiful. Compassionate. Patient. Thoughtful. Eloquent. Idealistic.

Proudly, these are just some of the words I would and do use to describe my eldest daughter Kayla Ann.

Today is Kayla's 14th Birthday. I could not be prouder of the awesome young woman she has become and continues to grow into every single day.

People often tell me how lovely she is and remind me how proud I should be, point out what a wonderful job I have done. They ask me, 'What's the secret to raising such a great kid?'

My answer never changes. I had so little to do with it. She simply is who she is and she is simply wonderful. I am not being modest. I am not looking for protest. I know parenting plays a big part in who we all become. BUT. Kayla is a rare gem indeed. She has been loved and treasured and advised and nurtured by so many wonderful people and all of them have played a part in who she is becoming. Kayla is the type of child that carries the fingerprints of others in her heart.

There are days when I am so proud of her I could quite literally burst with pride. This beautiful girl who will play for hours without complaint with her much younger siblings and cousins, who shows such enormous love and generosity to all who surround her, who will rise from where-ever she is what ever she is doing without complaint or hesitation to answer my calling of her name. I look at her sometimes and think of all we have gone through together, and it dawns on me, this wonderful person is my daughter, she exists because I made it so and I am so very, very delighted that the universe should see fit to entrust such a precious soul into my care, if only for a while. Thank you!

Happy Birthday Rudi, We love you so much xxxxxx