Is that my kid?

Last weekend, we had the distinct pleasure of not only attending Derek's little brother's wedding, but of being part of the wedding party — we were all part of it: Derek as best man, me as a bride's maid, and Maïa and Solanne as flower girls. Maïa had practiced and talked about the whole thing for weeks, which is an eternity for a four-year-old. Solanne wasn't too sure what was going on, I think.

When we were preparing, I was keeping my expectations low. I figured if at least one of them made it down the aisle without any major catastrophe, I would be satisfied. Well, Solanne never made it down that long aisle, with all those eyes staring at her. But Maïa...

With all due respect to the bride (who looked lovely and radiant), my girl stole the show, at least in my eyes. She went down that aisle in her beautiful little white dress, carrying her little basket full of rose petals. And she carefully lay handfuls on the floor as she went. She obediently sat down with her Nana in the front row and watched the wedding, legs crossed at the knee. And when the time came for the bride and groom to sign the register, on came the music, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and out went Maïa in front of the altar, dancing. I guess the beat was too hard to ignore. She danced the whole time, and I laughed and laughed. Who was this little girl with the great sense of rhythm, without inhibitions?

And she kept surprising me. I barely saw her the entire day. Of course, I was busy helping the bride and getting pictures taken, etc, but even when I had some down time, Maïa was busy, working the room. She was showing off her shoes to anyone who would listen. I think each person at the wedding got to see them at least three or four times. She even went up to the dj and shouted out to him to take a look at her cool new footwear.

She sang songs at the microphone to get her Uncle Pat and Matante Julie to kiss; she visited with her cousins, many of whom she only sees once or twice a year; she twirled around and showed the guests her ballet moves. She shone.

The little shy girl I used to know has disappeared and been replaced with this amazingly outgoing and self-confident child. I've watched her grow into this person, of course, yet I sometimes wonder where she came from. And I realise that even as her mother, I do not know her entirely, cannot know her completely. She has parts of her self that are just for her self. It's incredible; my daughter is an independent human being. And I get to continue to discover her, every day.