twelve

Oct 2, 2012

It is finally here. Miss Keziah is twelve. At least she will be at 12:36 a.m. You can read all about her birth and her past birthday posts (2011, 2010, 2009) if you want to know more about this lovely young lady.

I remember my twelfth birthday. My father left on my twelfth birthday to start a new life. I remember begging him to take me with him because I couldn’t begin to imagine my life without him. I remember being full of anger. More anger than I could hold within me and it exploding out of me again and again and again over the next many years. I remember missing him so, so much.

Today as I looked at her as she listened to Little Women for the umpteenth time, I saw her beautiful face with freckles and fiery eyes and I was overcome with gratitude that she is not facing the same challenges I faced. Her father is not leaving her. Her family is not falling apart. Her parents are committed to each other and committed to her. My heart welled up with joy for the privilege she has of being a child and not being forced to be a grown-up long before she is ready.

See, she is having a little bit of a hard time transitioning to youth-dom. She is getting sillier by the day.

And while it is driving us all batty, it is okay, because she doesn’t have to be anything else. She can be silly if she wants to be. She doesn’t have to be the peacemaker like I needed to be. She doesn’t have to listen to grown-up concerns and carry them. She can be a twelve-year-old girl who is super responsible most of the time and pretty silly the rest of the time.

Tomorrow, on her actual birthday, I am taking her to the temple for her first time. She will enter the waters of baptism for her ancestors – my father’s ancestors, and feel the Spirit of the Lord in His Holy House. She will then go to the Salt Lake Temple on Friday and be baptized again – this time in the place her parents, great-grandparents, and great-great grandparents were married and sealed. She will become a welding link between these two families. This has been her plan for the last six months and I am thrilled to pieces to make it happen for her. Saturday she will get to go to General Conference with her friends and they are planning on throwing in some thrift store shopping as well. Sounds like a pretty fabulous twelfth birthday.

What else is Keziah up to besides silliness? Well, she loves teaching a class at iFamily to the little three – six year olds and has all of her lesson plans ready weeks in advance. Running, swimming, violin, piano, gymnastics, and kayaking are all big interests and she recently started taking ballet at our friend’s studio. She is playing in a beginning Orchestra at iFamily and can’t get enough of it. She organizes (and reorganizes) everything in her life and doesn’t understand what is wrong with the rest of us and our chaotic ways. She used to be obsessed with the color blue, but now she is obsessed with all things Zebra. Bizarre, if you ask me, but we did get her two zebra things for her birthday that she is going to shriek (loudly!) over. She has a hard time being serious and I spend much of my time trying to get into her soul. Sometime, someday, I will find her deep thoughts buried and they will amaze me, I’m sure of it.

Her birthday book for this year is Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People To Freedom. I also considered The Librarian of Basra: A True Story From Iraq and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making (which I did end up getting for her birthday, but not for her birthday book. I just couldn’t resist the fanciful tale of September traveling through Valente’s magical world! And, hey, Book Two came out today!)

What a lovely, inspiring book! I am swooning over the art and the story, but most especially Harriet’s prayers and God’s answers to his precious daughter. I chose this book because I want Keziah to know, really know, she can AND must rely on God as she sojourns through this life. He will guide her, comfort her, and show her what her mission is. He will. I want this knowledge to sink into the marrow of her soul. She is super competent in most areas of her life and super competent people sometimes have a hard time relying on God. I know because I have been there. I hope she is inspired by Harriet’s courage, dedication, and most off all, her humility and willingness to trust God’s plan for her life. Keziah is a do-er and if she will let God lead her, she will do great things.

All three of my girlies

Happy Birthday Keziah. Thank you for being exactly who you are and being such a blessing to our family. We love you.