@imc finished her senior thesis this week, which was the last big milestone before high school graduation. Indulge me while I reminisce about the milestones that came before.
A few days before she was born 18 years ago I sat awake late into the night trying to process the fact that a human would be moving in with us soon. It was impossible.
And yet here she came in the beautiful Flagstaff summer of 1998.
And of course she did move in with us. Here’s the picture we used in her birth announcement from her first day at home.
She had almost no hair for the first year of her life.
But eventually it started to grow.
She is such a curious person. She always wanted to see everything, experience everything, and taste everything.
She has a warm infectious smile.
She has always loved to draw and paint.
She is so brave. She never turned away from new experience even though you could tell she was nervous. Here is her first day of school.
She is always thoughtful. Always contemplative. Always very self aware. And she has always been a writer.
One time when she was five she told me she knew what it would feel like to be left. “I know what it would feel like to be left,” she said. “It would be dark and rainy and I would be sitting in the doorway looking out at the darkness. I would watch you and mommy walk away and I would know you were never coming back. I know what that would be like.” 😥
She has always had a real intensity about her. She is so determined. She sets goals, tracks her progress, and self corrects. And she looks great in orange.
A sister came along eventually. Isabel wasn’t sure about that but she came to adore her sister in time. Usually.
She grew and thrived, made dear friends, and nurtured her love of art.
She loves to learn about cool things. We went to Biosphere outside of Tucson and she was enthralled.
She loves to travel. She road tripped with my wife every summer, and we took many family trips together. One summer we went to Yosemite…
…Monterey Bay…
…and San Francisco.
She went to Rome on her own for study abroad. She made it a goal, saved half the money, and plead her case.
She is always up for some fun. And junk food. One time we made homemade pop tarts.
She has beautiful friendships. She went to homecoming freshman year with her dear friend Hailey…
…and they went to Les Mis at the Phoenix Theater their junior year.
She likes to dress up…
…and wear vintage dresses.
…and maybe almost vintage cosplay.
She loves her family. She gives them gifts, writes them notes, and listens to them. Here she is with her grandma/doppelgänger.
She has a life long love of reading. Here she is with Ian McEwan.
And even after all this time she’ll still flash me a silly face to cheer me up.
She’s almost grown up now and if there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that she’ll be ok.
Because she may not be perfect, and she may not be certain, but she is good and brave and strong and hard working…
…and I could not be more proud of the person she has always been and the woman she has become.
❤️