Tender Delicate Hope

My younger teenager is just starting her IB and working towards her exams in 2013.  That sounds like a long time to go, isn’t it?  I found out tonight she is already putting so much pressure on herself though it is more than 20 months away!   When she was twelve and was about to sit for a major exam, she was so stressed up.  But instead of studying she simply went cycling to de-stress.

This younger teenager is the happy go lucky one, giggling spontaneously and getting excited over small little things.  Anyone and anything in the entertainment world you want to know, just ask her.  She is the only one in the family who twits and had been sent to twitter jail – for twitting too much within a certain timeframe.

“Behold your body is your temple” – this is what she says all the time.  She takes extremely good care of herself pouring loads of lotion to moisturize herself.  If we are at the beach, it is sun-block complete with wide brim hats to match her swimwear.  Very health conscious and extremely active in sports.  Fashion is within her zone but she is mindful not to spend unnecessarily lavishly.

All the above are what one could observe of my younger teenager.  Unbeknown to most, she is also the more sensitive one.  Her tough exterior is more of a defence mechanism that she has put up in case she gets hurt, be it by comments passed or through actions of friends or loved ones.  Quick tempered but just as fast as it comes, it fizzles out just as quickly.  Her strongest strength is her determination.

There was an occasion where she took up my challenge to swim twenty laps non stop in an olympic size swimming pool in exchange for her very own Blackberry.  Not known to be a strong swimmer and had never completed swimming a lap without stopping, she took up my challenge.  She swam from early evening till the sun set.  For her determination in completing the challenge, she was rewarded with her very own Blackberry.

Tonight at our family dinner, we were all laughing and talking about stuff in general.  Out of the blue, the subject turn to studies and IB exams.  The mood at the table changed instantly just within the snap of a finger.  My younger teenager, the livewire of the family suddenly turned moody and broke down.  Such is the pressure she puts on herself to achieve good grades even though she is just one month into the IB two years.

The name, Nadia in Russian means "hope" or it can be a variant of Nadiyya which, in Arabic, means "moist, tender, delicate".

To me, my livewire is the tender delicate one.  Delicate to look at but also tough.  She reminds me of Lily of the Valley, an old-fashioned perennial that looks so delicate with its tiny bell shaped flowers but this hardy shady lover is anything but delicate! Lily of the Valley is a tough-as-nails perennial that can grow in the deep shade of large trees and shrubs.

Delicate but tough, my 'hope' is also the loyal to the end, she’s one to be by your side come what may.

I pray that that my “tender, delicate hope” will continue to grow even in the deep shade or large trees and shrubs like the Lily of the Valley.  Above all, not to forget continue to take the time to go cycling.

My "tender delicate hope"

Whatever you do and wherever you go,
I will continue to always whisper a prayer for you
Because I love you, always
~Mummy~