Happy Birthday, Alexis
January 27th ... there's something vaguely familiar about that date. I think I'm supposed to remember to ... GOOD GRIEF, THANK GOODNESS IT IS HERE.
Alexis has spent an incredible amount of time reminding me about January 27th, 2017 because of course there is no other way to live than to plan for your next birthday every day for a year. I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say she started planning to turn 11 the day after she turned 10.
She does that a lot. Alexis spends a substantial amount of time planning her future.
We have an agreement that when Mila is big enough for the loft bed, Alexis will get to move to a different bedroom. A little room swap, if you will. Do you want to guess how many details of her eventually-to-be room Alexis has planned out? Hint: ALL OF THEM. We're talking about something that can't happen for at least three years, by the way.
She's not done with what she's going to do when she's 14. Alexis has planned all of high school. Last week she was trying to figure out how to make sure she has a locker on the end of a row because the ones in the middle are cramped. Don't bother telling her that she has plenty of time to worry about that later because no. Alexis needs to worry about it now.
She also needs to worry about where she's going to go to college. She has had Jessie Spano level panic attacks trying to decide which of her choices is the right choice.
She knows what she wants to do when she's grown - a dance teacher or a special education teacher. She's going to live in an apartment, probably not in the United States, and she's going to have at least seven cats. Apparently seven cats is the magic number that makes you a "Cat Lady" and she for real wants to be a Cat Lady.
The same kid has turned down boys who have asked her out with, "No, thanks. I'm a loner."
When someone makes fun of her or calls her names, Alexis grins, says, "THANK YOU SO MUCH!" and bounces away.
The girl who really super doesn't like Alexis? It sucks to be her because Alexis has made it her mission to be as nice as possible to that girl. "It's not my fault she gets annoyed when I'm nice to her!"
This kid. She's every bit as amazing as she was the day she was born, but now that she's had a full decade to figure out how to put her own stamp on the world. Her own stamp includes an incredible level of thoughtfulness, all of the planning, and a genuine love for walking her own path.
Alexis embraces being "weird." She wants to be her own person, even if other people don't like it.
There's no way of knowing what the next few years have in store for us, but I have no doubt that Alexis will do everything possible to make them great. She's hilarious, smart, adorable, persistent, and just plain a good person.
I'm incredibly grateful she's a part of my world.
Happy birthday, Alexis. I hope it's your best one yet.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Reader Comments (6)
Happy Birthday Alexis!
Happy Birthday Alexis!!
Happy 11th Birthday, Alexis!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEXIS!!!
Happy birthday, stay weird. :-)
Happy Birthday Alexis. I can only hope to be as cool as you when I grow up. It has been a pleasure to watch you grow up. I'm a planner too.