Amazing Grace

This is my love letter to Grace, daughter extraordinaire, and really all-around fantastic human being.

Grace turned 11 on May 6, and I am stunned to think of all the time that has gone by since that first foggy night when we brought her home. I remember exiting the hospital doors, just Grant and Grace and me, and getting into the backseat of our blue Honda Civic so I could watch over her on the ride home. I remember thinking that we shouldn't be allowed to take her home yet. Why on earth do nurses trust people to take two-day-old infants away from the safe hospital? What is wrong with them? So there we were, driving maybe 45 miles an hour on the 22 freeway on our way home to the condo in Huntington Beach. And then we took her upstairs in the baby carrier and sat her down and looked at her sleeping face. For a long time. We just looked and wondered what on earth we should do now. Should we get her out and put her in her crib or just let her sleep? (Because we both knew that you should NEVER wake up a sleeping baby.) We looked at each other in confusion and then realized that from this point on all decisions regarding this beautiful child were ours to make. Mistakes or no, we were on the hook for her growth and for her emotional, physical and intellectual development. Holy crap.

Flash Forward.

I still love to look at her. I might not stare at her for a long time because she would think that was creepy, but I can steal enough glances to know that I am still full of wonder at this beautiful child. Grace, for the most part, defies expectations. She has accomplished so much for her 11 years, and we are very proud. Most everyone knows that she is smart as a whip, but not everyone knows the other things that make her fabulous.

Top Ten Things that Make Grace Fabulous:

10. She is athletic. That girl can run, swing a bat (hard), climb a tree, balance on a skateboard, and the like. She loves to try new sports and is not afraid to fall, scrape her knees or get grass stains on her pants (sigh). I love that she is competitive (for the most part) in this area and that she is willing to try new things.

9. She regards fashion as a state of mind. This one has been hard for me since I am willing to purchase really any type of cute clothes for the girl. However, Grace prefers jeans and t-shirts, especially those with funny sayings, and I need to respect her sense of self.

8. Grace has a sense of self. She really seems to know who she is and is comfortable with that knowledge. She hasn't gotten into the full middle school scene yet or hit the sometimes treacherous waters of teenagedom so that might falter a bit, but she is comfortable in her own skin, and I am grateful for that.

7. She has a musical chops. Not only does the girl love her drama (more on that in a minute), but she can play the piano, sing and even harmonize! Her favorite thing to do is pick out one instrument in a given song (or voice as the case may be) and follow the note patterns, tune or melody through to the end. I am so jealous. I am hoping she works more on that talent.

6. She's inventive. Grace loves to think about contraptions or inventions that could work or plans that she could put in place. She is always devising something or creating the schematics for something. Often she'll ask me about complex scientific principles (like I would know, bless her. Quantum physics anyone? Bueller?) to see if she's on the right track. My advice is always library or Google it.

5. She's worried about global issues. Grace once drew up a rather simple solution to the crisis in Jerusalem over the holy temple. Her solution was to allow Muslims access to the temple on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Saturdays and Jews access on the other days (or some variation thereof). She does not understand all the nuances involved, but she wants a world of peace and she's trying to create workable solutions. I love that her heart stretches beyond the house and city we live in and that she's willing to put something down on paper.

4. Grace loves big, deep discussions. She loves to bring up a topic and then see where it goes. She and I are famous for starting an innocuous discussion about cute puppies (Oh! Look at that puppy!) which leads to dog walking responsibilities, which leads to talking about pet ownership and then home ownership and then at what age one buys a house and where one wants to look for a house and then college and then areas of study and future goals, and then we end at glass ceilings for women in the workplace. All this from "cute puppy." She and I ponder a lot, and she's a great conversationalist. After one of these lengthy discussions, we usually look at each other and say, "How did we get on this topic?" I pray that our deep discussions continue for as long as we live.

3. She loves the theater. My girl has the performance gene, and nothing makes her happier than being on stage. She just finished with Peter Pan and had her biggest role to date. During the ride to her performance as Slightly, Peter Pan's lead lost boy, I tried to give her some advice, such as, "Don't worry about anyone in the audience. Just have fun!" She turned to me and said, "Mom, do you think I have stage fright?" in a tone that suggested my supposition if that were the case would be idiotic. She is comfortable and happy on stage, and I wish her many years of success and joy as a performer.

2. Grace is a writer. The picture above of my daughter wearing a dress (gasp) was taken at a reception for her and nine other winners of a short-story-writing contest sponsored by the Orange County Public Libraries and the Irvine Barclay Theater. Out of 250 or so entries, 10 stories were chosen for publication and have been compiled into a book that is available to check out from each of the 30-some-odd branches. I love that my daughter finds the same joy, solace and fulfillment in writing that I do. I love that she will ask for computer time to finish a chapter or two on the latest story that she is working on rather than to play games (okay, sometimes she quits writing in favor of playing, but that's okay). I know that writing is going to play a huge part in her life.

1. Grace is committed to learning. I'm not just talking about school work or grades. Grace wants to know things. She is really good at memorizing trivia and sharing fun facts about random items (did you know that there is a species of shark that can bark? I did not. Still don't want to know), but the core of her commitment lies with bettering herself as a human being. She has a capacity for understanding how lessons are learned and then how to apply that knowledge to her life. I'll never forget when she sought out the school psychologist in second grade to get some perspective on her emetophobia (fear of vomiting). This had been such a problem for her and for us, and she took some steps to try and solve it on her own. She never enjoys getting in trouble, but she tries to learn from each experience. This is one of those character traits that is so hard to teach. She might have to learn the same lesson a few times, but I see how she tries to put the lesson into practice.

I have such high hopes for this girl. And while I'm eager to see where she ends up in her life, I am loathe to let that time fly by so quickly. My goal is to savor each day before middle school and high school take away some of the focus and present new and even scary challenges. I know that whatever happens, God will watch out for her and help her become a tremendous participant of the world. I am just so grateful on a daily basis that she is part of our world.