The Graduate

She stole my heart from the very first time I laid my eyes on her. An itty-bitty thing, her black curly hair, warm and curious eyes, and toothpick-sized fingers were all conduits of casting her magical spell on me. As she passed through her infancy and toddlerhood, I could tell there was something special about this child. She was very observant, curious, and asked a million questions along the way. She started reading on her own when she was four, but unbeknownst to me she knew how to read even before then, she just never told me because she thought it would mean the end of our snuggling and reading time together. As she went into gradeschool, it becamse even more obvious that she was very gifted in intelligence and music. She had some very negative experiences for almost two years in a junior high school, and she still bears the scars of bullying and harrassment. When her older sister became ill, she suffered in silence as her fears for her sister's survival remained in her heart, and she felt a loss of my presence in her life as I attended to TP's needs. But her high school experiences have all but healed the other times, and she has made some tremendous friends and has felt a sense of belonging within her group. We have grown closer over the past year, too. She is a creative thinker, a talented writer, and a gifted musician. Her sense of humor is very dry. Her vocabulary surpasses mine - at the age of 6 or 7, she was thinking out loud, and then she asked me if what she said was an example of an idiom! I had to dig deep into my mind for the definition of an idiom to determine if, indeed, what she said was truly an example. She is a kind and loving soul to her family, her friends, and the animal kingdom. She has been hurt deeply numerous times, and this has affected her in profound ways. She is very protective of me, and will stand in my defense if others try to harm me.

She graduates Saturday morning, and the open house will be Sunday afternoon. She will be going to the local branch of OSU in the fall -she did receive a scholarship from there - and is working this summer to save up money to help with expenses.

I am proud of her. Despite the many obstacles put in front of her, they have helped to shape her into a remarkable young woman. While I say goodbye to her childhood, I say hello to the next stage of her life and embrace it wholeheartedly. It's a bittersweet feeling to let go, but I know God will hold on to her as she ventures into the world. And God will bless her abundantly with His graces as she follows the path He has chosen for her. I love you, DQ.