Returnings..: Kezia's Coming of Age Ceremony

Happy New Year dear friends.

It's been a little while since I last wrote on here so I'm playing catch up...I wanted to share a really special day in September of last year where we celebrated my youngest daughter Kezia.

We had a day like that a few years ago for my daughter Daniella, and you can read about it here.

I feel strongly that rites of passage should be acknowledged and celebrated, and in this case we were celebrating Kezia's journey into womanhood. We, as a gathering of women, affirmed her, offered her words of advice and support, and promised to be there for her throughout her journey.

These were the invitations.

I love peacock feathers, they always speak to me of beauty and royalty.

Here are some photos of the day.

All photos are courtesy of Elle de Burgh.

This was a painting that I painted for the day. It's not really an accurate representation of Kezia but rather an image of what she might look like when she's a bit older. I wanted to convey a sense of being comfortable in her own skin and I like that there are peacock feathers in her hair.

I chose wings as a theme for the day because of a dream my friend Elle had about Kezia when she was a baby, about her having wings and excelling beyond her years.

For the actual ceremony, all the ladies lit a tealight and placed it in a jar, and then we gathered outside and made a path with our jars, to symbolise that we would be there to light her path throughout her journey. We then gathered under a tree decorated with ribbons and Kezia walked up the path to meet us.

Under the tree, each lady presented kezia with a pair of wings that they had been given beforehand, to write any words of advice, affirmation or scripture, anything they wanted. I felt that it was important for Kezia to have a moment with each lady, to be seen and embraced. It was particularly lovely that the mothers who were there could share this moment with their daughters.