Monday, June 29, 2015

thirteen

We have a teenager, and she is wonderful.  She has the sparkle she was born with, and she is warm and curious.  She wants to know you and what you are about and if you've met her once she will greet you with a hug the next time around as if you've known each other forever.  



She arrived early (I know - it was exactly on time, but I was new at the mama gig, and she was early!) and has been ready for the next thing since that moment. 




We travelled to Maine so we could spend her birthday with dear friends, and omigosh, the puppy play that comes with these big kids - the limbs and the wrangles and the laughing! It was awesome. We used to watch Esme's big sisters sprawl across our couches with their friends, legs crossing legs, a jumble of bodies.  We're there.  Maine was exactly the right place for this kid to turn thirteen.




Teenagers generally get a bad rap in the world, but I don't get why.  This feels like the brink of so much possibility and goodness.  The creativity, the life force, the big big love. If I weren't your mama, I'd sure want to know you, Eliza...



4 comments:

verdemama said...

So so beautiful! I wish more people recognized the "the creativity, the life force, and the big big love" inherent in so many teenagers. Congratulations on having a beloved teenager in your house and happy belated birthday to her.

Unknown said...

oh, mom! this is beautiful! i love all the pictures. but my favorite one is the first one in B&W. you spelled rep wrong. you said rap. LOVE YOU BYE!

alissa said...

Hooray for the teen! Love you!

slim pickins said...

Eliza - that's so funny! I just looked up "bad rap" and it goes waaaaaaaaay back to the 14th century, meaning strike, or blow. then it came to mean a sharp criticism. "Rep" like reputation would have worked here too for what I meant, you're right!