Pain with Grace

I am immensely proud of my oldest daughter.  She recently got braces on.  As expected, she was in a lot of pain for the first few days.  For the first 2 days she couldn't chew anything.  She tried to eat oatmeal.  She had to place it in the back of her throat and try to swallow it.  It took her so long to eat that once she finished a meal, it was time to start the next one.  She was getting pale and faint from dealing with the pain and the lack of food.

During all of this she never complained.  She never had a bad attitude.  She rarely told us how she was feeling unless we asked.  She continued to try to help around the house.  She continued to do her homework.  She continued to do everything she normally did.  We had to tell her to take things easy. She handled everything with grace.

She is an amazing young woman.  A piece of me wonders if she handled her difficult time so wonderfully because she has watched me handle difficulties the same way for the past 5 years.  I think a bit of it is simply the way she is built, but if my actions have molded her at all then my hardships were worth seeing my 16 year old handle her own hardships with grace and ease.  I am proud of her.