Tween Scene

Here it is several days past birthday again, and I’m finally getting a post up.

Birthdays… they are still hard in so many ways for all of us. Especially the older ones who vaguely remember ‘before’. Celebrations drive home the missing pieces and changed traditions that are easy to forget in the day-to-day.

Today, we will throw our first birthday party, since all this change. We’ve kept it low-key, and this party will still be low-key… but we are easing back into celebrations. I think it’s been long enough for most of the kids to forget the ‘old’ parties and traditions there. Her 8th birthday was the last from ‘before,’ both just a moment ago, and also a lifetime ago. Time to move on, that’s for sure. New memories, new celebrations, new life.

So, this week Rebekah, my little pig-tailed, thumb-sucking toddler turned into a tween.

Eleven years old- Eleven! Childhood is rapidly fading into the background and suddenly she is a young woman.

This girl loves big. She loves with a huge, all out devotion. She gives big and is more likely to spend her money on another than herself. She still loses on purpose, gives her opponent the favored color or starting position, and cheers like she won when another succeeds.

She has a quiet determination. Preferring to figure stuff out on her own, even if it takes longer that way.

It’s been such a hard few years for her, and I’m so happy to see her on the upswing finally.

It’s an amazing privilege to walk beside her as she moves into the next stage of her life. From child to young woman. It’s going to be awesome!