Ten is a whole new ballgame isn’t it? Double digits and all that. I’ve been a mom for a decade. And all of that. I was showing Letty photos of her first birthday party because ironically enough she chose the same luau theme for her parties this year.... and sure she looks different as one would expect (Duh) but man... the rest of us! We were babies back then. We had no idea what we were doing and were just so over the moon to have a baby of our own. Babies are fun. We had no idea of the broken bones and the split lip... the IU evaluations.... twice. The complete devastation I experienced when she went to school.... the fear and anxiety of her being away from us... the sleepovers and the psychologist and the tutoring and the schooling and the yelling (oh the yelling) and the tween attitude and the tears I would shed. I knew none of it. Completely blissful. I have said a few times recently that those years spent wanting to get pregnant I wanted a baby. I wanted that lovely feeling of a sleeping baby on my chest. The baby smell. The cuddles and the rolls. I didn’t know about any of this other stuff. And I sure as heck don’t know what’s coming for me tomorrow let alone in the next ten years (teen Letty please please please go easy on me!). We were clueless in those photos. We have aged. Children made us look old and haggard. But Letty! Oh my beautiful Letty! You are ten! You are such a little lady now and sometimes when I look at you it almost knocks the breath out of me! How did she get that tall?! When did she become all legs!? It happened over night. Except of course, it didn’t.
So. Ten. Before the world shut down she was a socially active little thing. I mean she still is. But she had her field hockey of course, her a Girl Scouts, her Wednesday night youth church. She played basketball this year which was new and fun! She was supposed to do Girls on the Run... she loves her friends so so much! I mean she loves her family too I suppose but her friends are where it is at. She has been tutoring twice a week still through the Dyslexia Center which I love more than her. She loves to swim and craft, play with slime and make bracelets and play Roblox and Minecraft. She wants to stay up late every night with us and watch a grown up movie. Which we let her do, sometimes. She loves all things tie-dye and girlie. She loves vacations and going away overnight anywhere. She likes musicals and singing and listening to the Harry Potter books. She likes to be kept busy.
We all know she is such a hard worker. Girlfriend never gives up. At school anyways, you know, for other people. When she is home working with me since March well, she doesn’t want to try so much. Nothing new there though. She is such a sweet girl. She knows if someone is upset and tries to think of ways to make them feel better. She is a pleaser. She is a rule follower. She is a second mommy to her brothers (much to their chagrin). She loves to help. She loves to help Matt cook and she loves doing dishes. She is a slob and her organization skills make my mind reel. She can think of things in such a way that always surprises me. She’s a great solver of problems and prides herself on the perks of that “special brain” of hers.
She will always try new foods and in the last year has discovered her love for chicken wings and if she could make herself a Shirley Temple well that would be just grand. All of this is probably why she hates her boring “school lunch” of crackers and cheese. There is more in there don’t worry. She is loud. She can mimic my faces and expressions almost perfectly. She is entirely too annoying to Nera and deserves every hiss and scratch she gets. She still chews her fingers but loves to paint them, even if they last only an hour. She gives me way too much attitude and sass and frustrates me to no end. She’s ten, going on fifteen. But I still think she’s pretty fantastic.
Oh Letty. Happy one decade on the earth! It’s been the very best decade of my life and that’s because of you. I love you to the moon and the heart and back!
