Aliah turned 7 this past Sunday.
Seven. Complete. Whole. A shift. And somehow, the most fitting number for who she has always been.
A few days before her birthday she told me she didn’t want to turn 7. She was scared — because 7 meant she was definitely a big girl now. I could feel the weight of that realization for her. I told her what I will always tell her: no matter the age, she will always be my baby. She sat with it, nodded, and kept going. That’s Aliah.
She Planned the Whole Thing
This generation of kids did not come to play, and my daughter is proof.
No big party. No bouncy house. She wanted her three closest girlfriends, a nail appointment, and pizza. That was it. My cousin found out the goal and called it: “I think they just built a nail salon and a pizza spot by the new grocery store. I drove by the other day.” Two businesses, two doors apart. God was clearly involved in the logistics.
The girls were seated, handed slushies, legs massaged, chairs vibrating. Watching their faces during those massage chairs was everything. Arrington wanted in on the celebration, and his dad made the call — you do not leave your brother out. Arrington negotiated a spot at the adult table and was on his best behavior. He also loves a good pedicure, so the deal closed fast.
One of her girls couldn’t make the nail appointment but showed up for pizza and the park — and she came dressed to impress. Her brothers were with her —which Arrington loved. Aliah didn’t seem to mind, as long as her girl was there.
After pizza, the rain held off long enough. We hit the park and the boys went over to the basketball court, while the girls immediately climbed the monkey bars. About an hour earlier they were getting their cuticles done, twirling in their dresses and birthday outfits. Now they were coming down the slide face first.
On the Number 7
Seven is not just a number. In scripture, in culture, in meaning — it represents completeness. Wholeness. A divine shift.
It is all Aliah.
She has carried herself with a quiet authority since she arrived — and I mean that literally. Delivery was easy. She slid right out, ready. And she’s been that way ever since.
She is the kind of person you would want to know even if she were not yours. She walks into a room and can hold a conversation, think on her feet, read the energy. Her teachers see it too. Mrs. Hawkins mentioned it just last week — that Aliah is helpful, kind, attentive. That she loves having her. And if you know Aliah personally, you are nodding right now because she is all of that, and she will check her brother without hesitation. The range is wide. The sass is real.
Raising confident girls is not one big moment. It is a thousand small ones — letting them voice their fears, honoring what they want, watching them play a full soccer game short-staffed on their actual birthday without coming off the field once. She hustled the entire time. Long legs, dark brown beautiful skin, those big eyes locked in. Fearless.
What She Has Taught Me
I have said it before, and it still stands: I love watching my kids get older. More independent. More themselves. I try to stay ahead of each stage so I am adjusting with them, not holding on too tight.
Aliah makes that easy because she has always been so clearly herself. I am not raising her into confidence — I am just making sure nothing gets in the way of what she already is.
She does not have to prove herself to anybody. She simply is. And I am obsessed with her. She is one of my most favorite people. She makes me want to be better. Seven years in and I am still not over it.
Happy Birthday, Aliah —exalted, sublime, noble, high-ranking. The name was right on time.
BTW: “She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” — Proverbs 31:25
I always say raising confident girls means getting out of their way. But what does it look like in your house? Drop it in the comments — I want to know.
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Black Motherhood: 6 Lessons from 6 Years of Loving Her
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1 Comment. Leave new
Aliah is a jubilant child. I have been with her since she was 20 months and she amazed me with how advanced she was. Her taught her so many things for a child of that age and she absorbed the knowledge. Now five years later and she still can trip me out.