All Grown Up

Inspirational song: She's Always a Woman (Billy Joel)

On this day, some undisclosed number of years ago (more than a few, fewer than a lot), my life took a dramatic shift, and my world changed forever. A very young me became the mother of an even younger version of myself - also an opinionated, passionate, strong, and vibrant version of myself. It was Me 2.0: tougher, smarter, louder, braver. Any early fantasies I had about this petite flower being a little princess were expelled early on. While not precisely a tomboy, my little miracle always managed to look like she had been dragged through a bush backwards. She told me quite emphatically that I was to give up on the idea of her ever becoming a lady. And now that she is a woman, I realize that she was right, and not to her own detriment. Being a lady would have been too quiet for her. Instead, she is a champion for the voiceless, a fighter for what is just. She knows instinctively the difference between right and wrong, without relying on dogma or authority to tell her first. She makes me proud to have been the one to set her on the path she ran down without waiting to see whether I can keep up.

She was ready to be on her own almost ten years ago, but we weren't ready to let her loose on the world until she left for college. Not surprisingly, the days I like best are the ones when she calls and we end up talking for hours, until both our phone batteries are dead and my voice is tired. She still makes a few mistakes, but chalk that up to inexperience. She learns as she goes, and she gets better every day. When she was little, she used to tell us her life goals were to complete high school and then save the world. One goal down, and one in progress. She also said once that she ought to have a backup plan, like cosmetology, if she didn't make it as a scientist. Lucky for her, she is a professional in her main field, and only a skilled amateur in her backup.

I wish I hadn't let the month of November slip past me so quickly, but I was self-absorbed in training for my new career. I didn't prepare much in the way of a material gift. But I think she knows that even if nothing came in the mail today, she was in my thoughts all day, and occasionally on my Messenger app. I was inwardly celebrating the anniversary of one of the bests days of my life, even if outwardly I was stuck doing schoolwork. Happy birthday, Junior. I'm so glad you are around.