The brunette mermaid faces the ocean. We cannot see her face but her teal body blends into the ocean and skyline as if to say she is one with the world.
The simple canvas used to hang over my daughter’s bed. It was a birthday gift from a few years ago that complemented the bold teal walls in her then newly decorated room. Now it awkwardly hangs in my bedroom, reminding me of yet another phase of childhood that has passed.
My tween has moved on from mermaids and vibrant shades of blue. Instead she wants grays and blacks and whites. She is changing as fast as her taste in decor. She is seeing the world differently now – asking for living plants and posters instead of canvas prints or stuffed animals. She wants trips to Starbucks and time to just talk.
This space between childhood and teenage-hood isn’t easy. I remember this time in my own life well. Interestingly, it felt a lot like many transitions in life. The apprehension, fear, confusion, and excitement that preceded becoming a mother or starting a new business or even ending one. The space where what used to bring you comfort feels frivolous and unimportant in the grand scheme of life. Yet, it’s all you know. It’s what has always felt right – until it didn’t anymore.
This transitional state can feel vast and hollow until you finally find yourself immersed in that next stage. When you realize you are no longer straddling two worlds. But for my daughter and perhaps for me, crossing this threshold simply takes time and patience and self love. We will get there as it’s supposed to happen. In the meantime, I get to stare over the shoulders of my daughter’s mermaid as I lay in bed.
She is my daughter, she is me, perhaps she is all of us.