Growing up
That leap after high school was slower for Ali. She went quite a distance, forced herself to stand on her own two feet. With every visit I’d see little differences. More practicality. More control. Abilities that got more and more impressive. And an appreciation of and simple kindness toward me that had sputtered nearly out of existence during those emotionally fraught teenage years. It was a gradual transformation, like cartoon drawings flipped slowly so you can register the changes. She made herself into something exceptional.
The leap for Maddy is different. On little more than a whim, she decided the National Guard sounded interesting and after graduation, off she went. She disappeared for six months into what is designed to be a transformative process. She’s been back for two days and it has been fascinating to get reacquainted with her. She looks different. She moves differently. She used to become talkative about 9 pm every night like clockwork and otherwise had a social battery almost as dinky as mine. Now she can talk all day. lol She doesn’t stand still. She moves faster. She doesn’t keep her esmeralda hair braided anymore. She was always self-confident, but there’s a calm sort of assurance behind it now instead of the stubbornness that used to prop it up. She doesn’t shut down when she’s stressed. She’s got a few weeks to get organized before she starts school, and she’s already made a game plan. I’ve got a touch of whiplash here, but it is so cool to see what she went away to find.
The fascination of having children, it seems, is neverending.
The leap for Maddy is different. On little more than a whim, she decided the National Guard sounded interesting and after graduation, off she went. She disappeared for six months into what is designed to be a transformative process. She’s been back for two days and it has been fascinating to get reacquainted with her. She looks different. She moves differently. She used to become talkative about 9 pm every night like clockwork and otherwise had a social battery almost as dinky as mine. Now she can talk all day. lol She doesn’t stand still. She moves faster. She doesn’t keep her esmeralda hair braided anymore. She was always self-confident, but there’s a calm sort of assurance behind it now instead of the stubbornness that used to prop it up. She doesn’t shut down when she’s stressed. She’s got a few weeks to get organized before she starts school, and she’s already made a game plan. I’ve got a touch of whiplash here, but it is so cool to see what she went away to find.
The fascination of having children, it seems, is neverending.
