Forever Young

portrait of a young artist

Yesterday was Vanessa's first day of Kindergarten! I still don't have any pictures of her from yesterday or today, but I got to listen to her on the phone last night go into great detail about her class, her new friends, what she wore, and how excited she was to have a princess backpack.

Her favorite thing to do in class is draw pictures. I asked her what she drew and she said, "The park and the sunshine and the grass and me and mommy and daddy and Annabelle. And the sky. . . and . . . other stuff I can't remember." I said I was proud of her and I encouraged her, "Listen babe, no matter what anyone says, you draw whatever is in your imagination, okay?" She excitedly replied, "Okay!" It's fun being an aunt and watching this little girl grow up knowing she can take on the world!

It's so crazy to grasp the fact that she's already in Kindergarten. I rest easier knowing she LOVES school and loves making friends. She told me about some of her classmates and why she likes them and how she is happy to have "more new" friends. It's comforting to know that just as much as she is into more solitude-centric arts, she is also a wild child with lots of love to share with others.

One exciting thing I'm working towards and saving up for is to pay for an airline ticket for one of my family members and Vanessa to fly up to Seattle to visit next summer! She's growing so much and I would love for her to experience the "world outside," even as a little girl. I live for the moments where I can share my world with her. One of my favorite things I share with her is a little phrase I taught her when she was younger. I would scoop her up in my arms, hold her close and say, "Look, I'm holding you like a baby!" And every time I see her and spend time with her, it warms my heart to see her smile and exclaim, "Aunt Manda, hold me like a baby!" And I do, and we share a close, warm moment together and time seems to stop altogether. I know it won't last long, but I hope she grows up knowing she can come to me at any point in her life and I will hold her "like a baby."

I can't wait to see what this little miss grows up to be!

Easter, 2010

The New Year

I had a great time ending the past year with my friends and family :D It was so awesome to get to see most everyone and catch up and share some funny stories and memories. It was also really good to get to see my brother and sister. We've never been super duper close, but we love each other so much and when we get together, it's nothing but laughs!

I'm looking forward to a lot of great things this upcoming year, but mostly, I'm looking forward to my High School Reunion. It's been 10 years since I graduated from McCallum High School. Crazy business! What's really interesting is that since I've been out of High School, the people I talk to the least is the ones I went to Middle and High School with. I can't explain why . . . i guess distance really does make a difference. I mean, after High School, I kinda walked away from it all and grew up a bit. Don't get me wrong- i TOTALLY don't feel like I've been out of High School for 10 years . . . I mean, I still feel like I'm 20. I feel so young and free. What's funny to me is that the thought of going to my High School Reunion is like this big crazy event where I want to know ridiculous things- like, who in my High School is a fan of Twilight and who still remembers Ms. Nauert and how out of her mind she was?

As I thought about this reunion, the one thing that stood out the most was that I spent 4 years of my life trying to figure out where exactly I fit in at my school and NOW, I am COMPLETELY comfortable knowing that I don't fit in and I don't HAVE to. I am me. I'm perfectly me and that's okay. I guess it took me the 10 years after High School to get that, but I got it. ;)

I was talking to a friend of mine from High School while I was home on break and apparently, our Valedictorian died (?!? who knew ?!?) and no one is really taking the reigns on planning anything currently. And apparently, little groups have already had their own little reunions? Like all the latinos got together and had a small reunion . . . and where was my invite for that? Who knows. And all the white kids got together and had a small reunion . . . and where was my invite for that? jk. But seriously. I guess if no one does anything for our High School, I'll try to plan a little somethin' something for my circle of friends. It'll be lame cause I won't get to see where all my other classmates have ended up thus far, but really . . . whaddayado?