Essay 124: She’s turning 10

My baby will be 10 in just a couple of weeks. 10 years old! A two-digit number!

Since 18 is the legal adult age, we are now officially past the half way point of parenting our child.

Judging by how fast the past 10 years have gone by, I can tell the next 8 will disappear in a blur.
It’s a little scary. I’m running out of time to be the primary influence in my daughter’s life. There’s so much I want to do, say, teach.

I always write an essay preceding her birthday to take a mental snapshot of who she is. I don’t want to forget our 9 year old little girl.

She’s a force of nature. Strong, vibrant, full of energy.
Thankfully, it is bright, beautiful, positive energy. She is still the happiest, most cheerful kiddo I know. She has a great sense of humor. She is kind but not a pushover. She loves make up and nail polish as much as playing in mud and wrestling.
She is smart, funny, athletic. She’s small compared to kids her age but she doesn’t mind one bit. Her body is lean and muscular. Her personality shines and commands attention. She gets noticed and is remembered. The store clerks, the bank tellers, the farmers market vendors, the restaurant owners of our small town all know and love her. Quite a few have nicknamed her “The Gratitude Girl”.

Favorite pass times:

Being in the yard: to swing, or climb the tree. To catch lizards, or look for bird nests. To get a glimpse of a full moon or play hide and seek.
“To take a breath of fresh air” as she likes to tell me.

Sewing: though she has no formal training, she loves to sew. I’ve been giving her clothes I no longer wear and she’s made purses from old jeans, and socks from old shirts.

Art: she has a plethora of art supplies and makes use of them almost daily. I am very hands off when it comes to her creative life and it’s been wonderful to witness her artistic journey. She loves to draw and color. She takes a mixed media art class which includes clay sculpting, jewelry making and hand sewing. She also takes a fine art painting class.

Listening to audiobooks: she could listen all day long so I use audiobooks as incentives and rewards. In truth, I don’t mind that she loves stories so much.

Pretend play: whether alone or with her friends, she still enjoys play acting. She’ll be a mommy, a poor orphan girl, or a pet cheetah. Anytime she sits on the toilet, there’s a whole theater production in progress as well. I try to catch a listen to her cute ramblings although she now closes the door and asks for privacy.

Learning about animals: she has a collection of books on dogs, cats and various animals that she pours over daily. She also loves watching cartoons like Wild Kratts, Nature Cat and Dinosaur train, as well as animal documentaries and funny youtube videos. She has become quite knowledgeable on this subject and can hold intelligent discussion with adults. She can identify most dogs by their breed, even mutts. (More than one owner has been surprised by her accurate assessment.)

Group activities:

Martial Arts: She still practices jiu jitsu with daddy and misses training if classes get canceled. She’s been much more diligent in her studying of the art and is starting to give me a hard time when we roll. Once she gets bigger, I’ll be in trouble for sure.

Triathlon: She started in November after seeing a flyer. She’s been diligently training for a race scheduled on 01/18/20 (more on that in a future essay) with the simple (but not easy) goal to just not quit and cross the finish line. The sport has already benefited her greatly, physically and emotionally. It is the perfect balance between stretching her as an individual (ultimately, she is competing against herself at this point) and offering her the enjoyment of community during Sunday group practices. Coach Ben has been an excellent new addition to our “village” and the other students and parents have welcomed us warmly. She is learning about setting goals and making a plan to achieve them. She is learning follow through and discipline with daily training sessions. Her focus is simply awesome when she gets on that race bike. She looks like a true little athlete.

Violin: She joined the Hawaii Youth Symphony Intermediate String Orchestra in September. A very worthy addition to our schedule. Our munchkin thrives under pressure and this is the best kind of peer pressure. She has been motivated to practice more and consequently, she has improved greatly. Her Christmas concert was a wonderful experience for her, as a performer, and for us, as spectators.

Stuff we don’t like:

The mess: She still hasn’t made it a habit to put things back where they belong. She leaves her clothes in little heaps on the floor in various places in the house. Her idea of “cleaning up” is to shove things in the cupboard or at the bottom of her closet.

The need to nag: I’m pretty sure we say the same thing 1,000 times every day. “Put it away”. “Go pick up your clothes”. “Say it in French”. Agh!

The disregard for giving her best effort: our daughter is definitely not a perfectionist. Get it done fast even if not well is her motto to my greatest chagrin.

New developments:

Brain maturity: School is continuously getting easier for me as she works more independently and is highly motivated to learn. Fourth grade is going smoothly. She assigns herself homework and adds topics to her to-do list. Lately, she asked to start studying Navajo on her Duolingo app and she wants me to implement weekly research assignments. She writes poetry and essays (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree) and though math is not her strength, she is not defeated by it and feels quite a sense of accomplishment once she masters a new concept.

Physical changes: Hormones are clearly kicking in (as demonstrated by the pungent aroma emanating from her armpits) and our girl is becoming boy crazy. She’s still innocent and we are pleased that she sees us as confident and tells us all about the latest cutesy who’s made her heart go aflutter. Still, we worry and her dad and I have made it a priority to educate her on navigating those feelings of attraction and desire. (I’m currently reading with her: Crushed, why guys don’t have to make or break you.)

Sleeping arrangements: While in Japan, we noticed a marked improvement in her attitude towards us (sassiness and talk back had become a habit) and could attribute this only to the fact that were all sleeping together. We decided to continue sharing a room once we returned home and I can attest that it has greatly increased our sense of closeness and connection. She is thrilled about the new arrangement and we’re pretty proud that our daughter’s favorite is to sleep near us.

Work: She started working as a petsitter for neighbors who are very happy with her services and pay her generously.
She also has been selling her gratitude cards at two local farmers markets: The Aloha Home Market and Lokahi Market. Both managers have graciously allowed her to set up a vending table at no charge. They admire her entrepreneurial spirit and have been such a great support to her.

Parenting is never easy but I admit that we lucked out. Our child is healthy and happy, and she loves us. We’re blessed and look forward to the next ten years.

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How do you keep a record of your child’s growth? Share in comments below.