Unbreakable

1

"Kila! Girl, I am not gonna tell you again. We will not be late for drop off today!" I yell in the direction of my daughters' room as I finish packing their lunches for the day.

"Momma, okay!"

I hear her sigh loudly and stomp her tiny feet against the tile floor. Typical sassy Akila, five going on eighteen.

"Your butt better be in this kitchen in one minute miss attitude."

My mother cursed me when I was pregnant with Akila.

She told me that for everything I put her through, she hoped my daughter would be ten times worse than I was and maybe give me a taste of my own medicine.

Although, she didn't put it as kindly, with her words being a bit more cruel and inappropriate.

But the jokes on her. Kila isn't growing up with an abusive heroin addict as a mother. So I'm confident she'll turn out slightly less damaged than I did.

"Mama. Juice!" My two year old whines from her high chair.

"Baby, I already gave you your jui- oh, fuck, Kalene." I turn around and spot her opened sippy cup with juice still leaking from the tray into a puddle on the floor.

"Ugh, you're cut off babe."

I grab the sippy cup from her sticky hands, take a paper towel to the puddle of apple juice under the high chair and pick up my little tornado of a two year old daughter to get her cleaned up for the second time this morning.

Of course we're going to be late for drop off today, again.

"No, no, no, no, no, no-" Kalene shrieks as I attempt to wrangle her and run her hands under warm water.

"Escúchame mamita. You need to calm down. You hear me? 'Cause I'm not playing with you girl."

She immediately pouts but she stops fighting me.

"Yes, mama."

I try to hide my smirk and continue washing her small hands. The hands I would never truly hurt despite how frustrating she can be.

"Now who's the one that's late." Kila giggles as she leans against the door frame of the bathroom with her backpack in hand.

I fight the urge to laugh and smack the sass out of her.

"Everyday you prove how much of my daughter you really are." I say rolling my eyes at her.

"Grab the lunches on the counter my love, and mommy's purse please and wait out front baby. I'll be right there."

"Okay, momma." She turns on her heels and walks in the direction of the kitchen.

I carry Kalene into their bedroom and pull off her stained blue dress and replace it with a clean white T-shirt and a denim overall dress.

"Pwetty!" My angel smiles at her reflection in the closet mirror.

I can't help but take a moment to look at the beautiful little girl in front of me and appreciate that she is my daughter.

That they are both my daughters.

"Come on, already!" And just like that the moment is over as I hear Akila yell from outside making me laugh loudly.

"Little shit."