14

Here I sit, trying to figure out how it is possible that I am old enough to have a child that is 14.  I remember being 14. I remember my mother when I was 14. Is it possible that I am actually as old as she was then?

That is a heck of a lot of candles.  After all these birthday cakes how is it that the cakes I make still look pathetic?

But wait, I am avoiding the subject of this post which is not me at all but my beautiful daughter.

The past year and a half have been difficult as she has navigated her way through the early teen years and become more comfortable with her self- identity.  Scares me to think that I have more children who will have to go through this process.

she has emerged from that stage beautifully though and I am so proud of her that it brings tears to my eyes if I allow myself to ponder on the thought.

She is incredibly responsible, has developed great friendships and truly has a comprehension of her self worth.

This year she entered the “high school” era and is taking a full course load. I was concerned about whether or not she would be able to successfully manage it all, I shouldn’t have been…..

She gets herself up for seminary at 4:45 each morning, gets ready for the day, reads her scriptures and studies the scriptures she needs to memorize then proceeds to get her dad up to drive her.  She has already memorized nearly half of the scriptures required and has surpassed everyone, even her teachers in the number of them she has passed off.

For the third year she is taking Shakespeare.  they are required to red 17 plays and in the first month she has done 9.

She is also taking Economics and classical Literature as well as participating on a rifle team.

None of these things require that I check her, remind her, stay on top of her….  She is taking the initiative for her education knowing that she will only get out of it what is equal to the amount of work she puts into it.   Pretty big concept for someone her age to grasp. I know adults who haven’t figured that out yet.

I marvel as I watch her.