Well, it finally happened. Daniela turned 18 today and is officially an adult. (Apple sent me an email and everything, informing me she now has Full Control of her Apple ID and profile. Which seemed like an odd thing to get from Apple, but whatever.)
How is she celebrating? By going to school, taking her Economics class at UMF, and then her Ski Instructor class at Titcomb this evening. She’s a super busy person these days, and if you want to do something with her, it’s usually best to schedule it well in advance. 🙂
As I look back over the 18 years she’s been with us (which is almost exactly the same as the 18.5 years we’ve been in Maine), it’s fun to see how she’s grown and matured over the span. The stretch where she was obsessed with anything Lord of the Rings related, her various experiments in style and fashion, our adventures in baking (peanut butter chocolate bundt cake and homemade snowballs stand out in particular), board gaming, movie watching, cello playing, and more. She’s a big thinking and will still surprise me regularly by what she’s been mulling over.
Am I excited to see her grow up? Of course, even though I’m also more than a little sad to see the days of her childhood get smaller in the rear view mirror. There was a time when going to the Daddy Daughter Dance with me was the highlight of her year. Something tells me that’s not quite the same anymore. But on the flip side, this also means that I get the pleasure of hanging out with grown up Daniela now, and grown up Daniela is a fantastic human being.
She’s more than ready to move on to the next great adventure in her life, of course. She’s filling out her mission papers, and she’s planning out things she wants to do when she goes to college. She has big plans, just as she’s always had, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Daniela can get things done. If she sees something that she wants, she works toward it until she gets it, no matter what.
In any event, if you see her around today, make sure to wish her the happiest of birthdays.