I have not “blogged” in a while. I guess that’s the fault of Facebook. My plans to maintain my writing chops while sharing thoughts, rants, recipes, music, and links to youtube videos were lost to the time it takes me to read everyone else’s thoughts, rants, recipes, music, and links to youtube videos on Facebook. But a special occasion calls me back.
Campbell Elizabeth Warren is no longer a kid. She’s a teenager. Thirteen, to be exact. This means, among other things, that I am no longer parenting children. I am parenting teens. Plural. Yes, I blogged about Allison turning 13 three years ago, and maybe I thought that act alone would suspend time. But, alas, not so. Campbell is expecting a birthday.
We started calling her “Scramble” so long ago, that I sometimes cannot recall if maybe it came before her curls. She was famously named after my best friend, Colin Campbell. It was a brilliant move on our part. As Colin and I have gotten older and living a few hours away from each other, there was the possibility I would miss the constant laughter, intellectual challenge, and sheer goofiness that he provides. But our Campbell has been delivering the goods since day one.
Campbell has never met a remote should could not control. She has spent years perfecting the ability to wake up before everybody in the house. She has friends that love her because she is always real with them. She is tender and patient with small children, even when they pull her crazy hair. Campbell was built to swim butterfly, yet would rather play a team sport. She bakes cookies that we consider crack. She paints when no one is looking. She raps when no one’s listening.
Xtina and I were concerned that Allison would be jealous of having a little sister. Allison has spent the last 13 years reminding us how wrong we can often be. As sisters, it is impossible to say they get along perfectly, but as friends and roommates, they get along like sisters. Allison has to be on her toes: Campbell uses her “smart” to sometimes precede cookie, and sometimes aleck.
I don’t know if I am ready for two teenagers. Not because she or her sister challenge us or push the envelope – they don’t. But Campbell becoming a teenager moves them closer to the day I dread – when I have to really let go of their hands. I never want to miss her half-hearted-semi-kiss she feigns as she says good night. I never want to miss the way she demands we cannot leave a minute late for school yet is in no hurry to fold her laundry. I never want to miss the way she silently smiles to approve when I say something profane to shock her sister.
Although I whine about any of us getting older, I am equally excited about the next few years. Leadership, games, meets, mock trials, repeated viewings of The Office and School of Rock, sarcastic remarks in moments of awkwardness, and watching her genuine love for peace and people blossom as she gains more ability to impact this world. I imagine Campbell is going to squeeze every ounce of laughter and life out of her teen years. She has been getting a running start since August 30, 1998.
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Here are some tunes to celebrate Campbell turning 13!
The Bird and the Bee - Birthday
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