Ten Things I Love About my Daughter on her 10th Birthday
Tomorrow my daughter turns 10.
TEN. Double digits. The big time. Official tweenager.
I thought about writing a 10 Pieces of Advice blog. But here's the thing- my daughter is fine. I mean that. Completely fine.
Is she a bit of a slob?
Well, yes.
Does she lose stuff?
See the comment above.
But the core of who she is, is possibly one of the best people I know. She was defined the moment she was born. I even knew she was left handed- ask my husband. Everyone thought I was nuts "Babies don't demonstrate a dominant side until at least age 2."
Guess what? She's a leftie.
So here's my top 10 list on my daughter.
1) She is happy.
When she was 4, I was having a bad day. I looked at her and she was smiling and dancing. I asked "What makes you so happy?"
She put her hand on her hip and with a smile she said "Me. I make me happy."
I shared that with her on Friday and she said "That makes me sound immodest.... that's not good." I explained that it was brilliant because she was right- we are all responsible for our own happiness. "Well of course." See. Brilliant. My buddha.
2) She is creative.
For her party, people have been asking me what she wants. I said tape. Paper. Markers. Anything to create. And I'm not talking drawing. I'm talking multi dimensional artwork. It's crazy. Her perspective on things continually surprises me.
I don't think she's every played with a toy the "right" way. They've always seemed to bore her.
She's an abstract thinker.
3) She is funny.
And I mean really funny. When she was a baby I tried to explain to my parents over the fun that I was pretty sure she had a good sense of humor. They thought I was nuts. Then they met her and completely understood.
She would make funny faces in the mirror in her crib and crack herself up.
Her comic timing is perfect. She knows how to work a dramatic pause and mug for the audience.
I love it.
4) She is a reader.
I really like that she reads what she likes to read. She likes to read fiction about fairy tales and silly girls and nothing overly serious.
We are just starting to read books together. "The BFG"- or Big Friendly Giant she loved. She was so happy when I told her I thought it was hilarious as well.
5) She can read people extremely well.
Neither of my children suffer fools. Her gut instincts are exceptional. She knows the mean girls and the bully boys. She doesn't even bother. She's polite to everyone but to get to be her friend is a big deal.
She has a few friends that still have temper tantrums. She very politely has asked me about spending less time with them. She felt that she had enough friends that don't act that way. She was tired of tip toeing around them. I told her I respected that and we would keep that in mind.
6) She still snuggles.
She was not a snuggly baby. She was constantly on the go and wanted to play with her brother. But now--- she is my snuggle bunny.
7) She is tenacious.
About two years ago, she decided she wanted to play soccer. We were stunned. When she had played at 4, she didn't really like it. It seemed random.
She was terrible. Really bad. And she knew it. But she stuck with it. She liked the camaraderie of being on a team.
This past season she focused on being a goalie and really was quite good. In fact, one of the best players on the team commented that "I love watching her play goalie- she's great!" which almost made me cry.
8) She has a beautiful voice
She has a beautiful, rich, alto voice. She actually sang before she spoke. She could mimic sounds as a baby and it would sound like she was speaking.
She doesn't think she can sing, but when no one is around, she can belt out some tunes.
9) She's smarter than you think.
Because she's a little disorganized, she might come across as ditzy. She's not. She's not academically competitive but trust me- the kid puts things together better than anyone I know. She may not regurgitate data as well, but she can find patterns quickly and draw conclusions. I love how her mind works.
10) She's fun.
She's a blast to be around. Her happy go lucky demeanor makes her fun to be around. She finds beauty in so many things and is always looking for the best in people.
She is one of the best people I know and I adore her.
TEN. Double digits. The big time. Official tweenager.
I thought about writing a 10 Pieces of Advice blog. But here's the thing- my daughter is fine. I mean that. Completely fine.
Is she a bit of a slob?
Well, yes.
Does she lose stuff?
See the comment above.
But the core of who she is, is possibly one of the best people I know. She was defined the moment she was born. I even knew she was left handed- ask my husband. Everyone thought I was nuts "Babies don't demonstrate a dominant side until at least age 2."
Guess what? She's a leftie.
So here's my top 10 list on my daughter.
1) She is happy.
When she was 4, I was having a bad day. I looked at her and she was smiling and dancing. I asked "What makes you so happy?"
She put her hand on her hip and with a smile she said "Me. I make me happy."
I shared that with her on Friday and she said "That makes me sound immodest.... that's not good." I explained that it was brilliant because she was right- we are all responsible for our own happiness. "Well of course." See. Brilliant. My buddha.
2) She is creative.
For her party, people have been asking me what she wants. I said tape. Paper. Markers. Anything to create. And I'm not talking drawing. I'm talking multi dimensional artwork. It's crazy. Her perspective on things continually surprises me.
I don't think she's every played with a toy the "right" way. They've always seemed to bore her.
She's an abstract thinker.
3) She is funny.
And I mean really funny. When she was a baby I tried to explain to my parents over the fun that I was pretty sure she had a good sense of humor. They thought I was nuts. Then they met her and completely understood.
She would make funny faces in the mirror in her crib and crack herself up.
Her comic timing is perfect. She knows how to work a dramatic pause and mug for the audience.
I love it.
4) She is a reader.
I really like that she reads what she likes to read. She likes to read fiction about fairy tales and silly girls and nothing overly serious.
We are just starting to read books together. "The BFG"- or Big Friendly Giant she loved. She was so happy when I told her I thought it was hilarious as well.
5) She can read people extremely well.
Neither of my children suffer fools. Her gut instincts are exceptional. She knows the mean girls and the bully boys. She doesn't even bother. She's polite to everyone but to get to be her friend is a big deal.
She has a few friends that still have temper tantrums. She very politely has asked me about spending less time with them. She felt that she had enough friends that don't act that way. She was tired of tip toeing around them. I told her I respected that and we would keep that in mind.
6) She still snuggles.
She was not a snuggly baby. She was constantly on the go and wanted to play with her brother. But now--- she is my snuggle bunny.
7) She is tenacious.
About two years ago, she decided she wanted to play soccer. We were stunned. When she had played at 4, she didn't really like it. It seemed random.
She was terrible. Really bad. And she knew it. But she stuck with it. She liked the camaraderie of being on a team.
This past season she focused on being a goalie and really was quite good. In fact, one of the best players on the team commented that "I love watching her play goalie- she's great!" which almost made me cry.
8) She has a beautiful voice
She has a beautiful, rich, alto voice. She actually sang before she spoke. She could mimic sounds as a baby and it would sound like she was speaking.
She doesn't think she can sing, but when no one is around, she can belt out some tunes.
9) She's smarter than you think.
Because she's a little disorganized, she might come across as ditzy. She's not. She's not academically competitive but trust me- the kid puts things together better than anyone I know. She may not regurgitate data as well, but she can find patterns quickly and draw conclusions. I love how her mind works.
10) She's fun.
She's a blast to be around. Her happy go lucky demeanor makes her fun to be around. She finds beauty in so many things and is always looking for the best in people.
She is one of the best people I know and I adore her.
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