A Heartfelt Gesture: When My Daughter Brought Me Flowers as an Apology

My daughter has had difficulty connecting to others since she was young. It's all part of growing up adopted and the connections she didn't get to make at birth, but it's been confusing for her. I can't imagine watching everyone around me navigating a social landscape that requires so many unspoken nuances that it boggles my mind. She continues to try, though.

The entire family went out for dinner last night to celebrate my new job. She doesn't like Mexican food (I know - what?!), so she was agitated when we got to the restaurant. She was grumpy even though we hadn't eaten out as a family in about three months because of our tight budget. To top it off, my son was sitting slumped in his chair and had a grimace on his face, like we were dragging him somewhere horrible. Once I settled in, I mentioned how I was a little disappointed that my two kids weren't a little more celebratory, since I finally have a job and we only have a few weeks before we'll be financially back on track. Eventually, my daughter got herself together and decided to sit next to me instead of a seat away, and my son started engaging in conversation. We ate and everything was fine once again.

I forget how these types of comments stick with my daughter, though. I could tell that it bothered her that I was bothered by her attitude, but she masked it well. It's probably because she doesn't tend to connect her nonverbal expressions with what she feels and gets confused when people make comments about her feelings because they are reading her body language.

This morning, my daughter was very excited to get outside and play with her friends. The sun is shining and the air is warm. She would live outside all year long if we lived in an area that allowed that sort of life.

About 30 minutes after she went outside to play, she ran in and breathlessly exclaimed, "I got you some flowers, Mom!" while handing me these lovely purple flowers, presumably plucked out of a friendly neighbor's pot. I knew this was her peace offering about yesterday, and I took them lovingly from her outstretched hand and thanked her.

She is SUCH a sweet girl. I can't wait until the rest of the world gets to see her shining light.

With love,