My Dearest Claire Bear,
Happy, Happy 15th Birthday!
What an incredible year you've had--chock full of so many milestones--8th grade graduation from SMM, beginning of high school at Duchesne, and now both of your siblings away at college.
This is the first time in your life that it's just been you, dad and me at home without Sam and Kate.
Many days, I think of you like this...
And then, other days, I think of you like this...
You are this unique, brilliant amalgamation of wickedly intelligent, incredibly kind, stunningly beautiful, utterly precocious, unGodly persistent, feistily creative, and the strongest advocate I've met in the world. To put it simply, you cannot be pinned down. You are a dynamic dance of it all.
This past year had you saying goodbye to a school that our family had been a part of for fifteen years--it was beautiful to watch you share your 8th grade Confirmation with Kate as your sponsor and all of our family as you graduated.
Next, you passed the baton and helped to celebrate Kate as she graduated from Duchesne and you got ready to enter as a freshman.
And during this transition, it has been absolutely incredible to witness you forge your own path. You have immersed yourself completely with a fantastic group of friends, acted in your first play, began ringing bells in the bell choir, applied and got accepted to the Kent Bellows art fellows program at the Joslyn and have truly and completely hit the ground running. It's been inspiring to watch and has us continually trying to catch our breath.
And, throw in that you started mowing lawns to make some nice pocket cash and found a great friend in an older woman from church who has been so kind to you.
And throughout all of it--the figuring out how to make new friends, how to manage your time, how to integrate into the challenge of high school academics, how to advocate for what you need, and how to largely do it alone without your brother and sister at your side-you have been nothing short of remarkable. An incredible force to be reckoned with.
As you belt Beastie Boys--your latest vinyl Aunt Lisa gave you--from your bedroom, I see that you are your own best you.
You have a strong voice and you're not afraid to let the world know your perspective-particularly if you feel like there's an injustice or something/someone that needs to be reckoned with. You are powerful and stubborn and sometimes, we butt the heck out of our heads. But the really amazing thing I've learned from you is the importance of a really good, "I'm sorry and I love you." You are quick to hug and there are no limits to your loyalty.
So, as you embark upon this new year, getting your learner's permit and taking driver's ed--while I'd love for you to slow down and let me catch my breath, I know that's not your speed. So, let me promise you that I'm along for the ride--all of the crazy, the beautiful, the unknown, the hard, the Johnny Cash, the fantasy books, the acrylic nails, the skincare, the rockstar bangs, the treatise on teacher satisfaction, and the ways that we should all stand up to protect the underdog.
You, my Claire Bear have the world by the tail and it's such a gift to be on the journey with you.
With wild abandon, keep being the boundless you and we'll keep loving you.
Mom
