Oh we liked 10. What a crazy age of growing, learning, taking responsibility, overcoming challenges and deep deep conversations. To be fair, of course your child grows and learns every year, but some years seem to be a marked difference.
Vi decided to join swim team this year, and the first day it was 60 degrees....I was wearing a jacket, she went swimming....back and forth, back and forth...I figured it would be our last day, but she loved it. She got stronger, loved showing up every day and learning new strokes, it was so fun to watch her pursue something she loved.
After the swim year, we went on a pretty big road trip. We traveled over 2,800 miles, six people, one mini van and a 6 person pop up camper. This girl who doesn't love loud noises, or when things get out of control, sudden surprises or changes in plans....went on a trip were many, many things went wrong... and while she may be minorly traumatized, she truly persevered. After our first day of hiking all day at the Bad Lands, we were keeping an eye on the weather while cooking dinner when a storm rolled in like NOTHING we had experienced. We didn't have a chance to sit with Vi as the straight line winds hit, to reassure her everything was ok; instead as the 80mph winds pounded our camper and thunder boomed around us, she did freak and scream, but WHILE she still zipped up the sides of the camper. It became quickly apparent more adequate shelter was needed, so we moved to the campground bathrooms, with the wind pounding the door and rain flying in through the window. Vi cried and yelled, (understandably so) "I DO NOT like this! Vacations are supposed to be relaxing! This is NOT relaxing! I want to go HOME!" When we emerged, our camper was soaked, and minorly damaged, almost every tent in the campground had been blown away, and a giant RV was knocked over on it's side and another pop up camper was ripped to shreds. We had to check into a motel for a night while assessing the damage and trying to decide whether or not to continue on. To be honest, I didn't think she'd be up for it, but after we all discussed it, she was more than willing to rise the occasion and continue our trek to Glacier National Park. Where many more challenges faced us and overcame them all amazingly.
We have had substantial, well thought out conversations. As parents we make many decisions that affect our kids. This year Vi had a lot more questions regarding some of those decisions....why did we make that decision, or what led up to it? She's old enough we were able to explain to her why we have made choices and what our hopes and goals are as her parents in our decision making. She seemed to really absorb it all, engage in tough topics and have her own opinions on things. It's been great. Tyler and I both really value spending time in deep conversations and getting to the heart of motivations and thinking, and being able to engage with her about life things that happen has been really wonderful. In the end, some of those hard decisions we have made have led to the best conversations that have been enlightening, meaningful and substantial to her growth and our relationship.
Overall, I'd say when we first hit double digits, as a parent I had an unfounded nervousness going into an age of unknown. This year has been encouraging. I'm so excited to watch her continue to grow into herself. I hope she keeps her confidence and wonder, but mostly, as usual, I continue to look forward to this wonderful young ladies journey with awe, admiration, and so much adoration.
