Sweet 16

It seems like everyone in the family has been doing a mental countdown to Meg's 16th birthday.  Over the past few weeks, each person has commented about how time flies and how exciting it is and, "Mom, can you believe your daughter is going to be sixteen?"

No, son, I really can't.

The thing about Megan's birthday is that it's not just the anniversary of her birth, but also the anniversary of the day that God picked us up from the the trajectory that our lives were on, and placed us on a whole new one.  Nothing was the same for us after this sweet girl came into the world, and I guess it's that way for all parents.  But it is worth mentioning because every year when Meg gets another year older, I stop and think to myself, "What if we had never had her?  Where would we be now?"  The Lord knew that Meg was the domino that would make everything else fall into place, and I am just so thankful.  Allow me a minute to talk about our birthday girl?

  

Our firstborn, our guinea pig.  Our serious, sober-minded, intelligent, empathetic girl.  Meg is mostly like her dad (except when she's being like her mom).  If Jordan is a hybrid of our most extreme qualities, then Megan is a hybrid of our milder ones.  Like her dad, she is an introvert, calm, serious, and always sees the best in people.  Even when she really has to squint to find the good, she will find it.  I love that she gives people the benefit of the doubt and always assumes goodwill.

Also like Jeff, she is an artist.  Her happy place is anywhere there is a clipboard full of blank paper and drawing utensils.  Hours and hours and hundreds more hours.  And then, when I find stacks of her sketches and ask if she wants me to save them, she replies, "Nah, I can just draw them again if I need to."  Ha!

She is black-and-white, but learning that sometimes a little gray is okay.  Her disposition is sweet as sugar, even first thing in the morning!  She has watched more nature documentaries than you or me--all of us combined, probably.  She loves animals and is a bit of a walking encyclopedia about them.  She prefers chopsticks to forks, cardigans to sweatshirts, and glasses to contacts.  Her perfect day includes coffee and an art gallery, and not much external stimulation.  Crowds are not her favorite.

She loves Chinese food, long drives with music, and books.  Actually, I think when most people think of Meg, they think of books.  Having easy access to her bookshelves is the thing she misses most from our old house.  She has read a thousand books and then read them over and over again.  One of my biggest challenges as her mom is keeping her in books.  That says a lot about how easy Megan is and how quickly she devours reading materials!

Megan is naturally content and never complains.

Too hot or too cold?  "No, I'm fine."
How's your food?  "It's great, thank you."
What do you think of your school work this year?  "I like all of it."

It's kind of a dream for a parent, but there is another side to having an ultra-content child!  Because she is so content, we have to press her hard if we want to find out what she would love, or what she doesn't like.

She has never had a wish list in her life.  She has never, when asked, been able to name even one thing that she would like for her birthday.  So I wrack my brain and come up with ideas, then run them by her.  She usually declines them all and says something like, "Seriously, Mom, I don't need anything."  Which is what she did again this year.  All I could come up with is:  new chopsticks, a nightgown, and a new set of colored pencils.  Ta-da!  Happy Sweet 16!  When they showed up, her face went all aglow.  That's my content girl.

Much to her father's dismay, she likes pop music.  Any era, 1950's - present.  She dislikes his screamo music as much as I do.  She likes historical-fiction movies and making lists.  She sometimes uses big words that aren't common in conversation, at least not in this century.  I've had to Google words she has used on many occasions, and have gone head-to-head with her in a definition war a few times, too.  It's those stinkin' books, teaching her words I've never heard of!  :)

I am in awe of this girl.  Truly so.  Her faith in God is whole and unwavering.  Quiet, but powerful.  In our family, she acts as a compass that will point any one of us back to Christ when we waver.  When someone is stressed or frustrated or isn't sure how something is going to work out, Meg is completely sure.  Talking to her and watching her, I feel that my faith is not strong enough.  It is a humbling thing, but also a swell-your-heart-with-gratitude thing.  May she remain steadfast for all of her days.

Megan is modest and conservative, and has this dry, English brand of humor.  Hard on herself when she makes a mistake, she's a girl who learns from seeing/reading/hearing other people's mistakes, and is careful in her actions.  Consequently, Meg rarely has a misstep.  When she actually does need correcting, Jeff and I are surprised and usually end up laughing because we can't remember the last time we had to correct her.

She says that she is not a risk-taker and is fine with that.  To her, most "wild" things aren't worth the potential cost.  So you won't see her sky-diving or riding the craziest roller coaster, but she'd happily hold your purse while you do!

My Meg is a joy to my heart.  Even with all these words I've written, I still haven't got it right.  But this will have to do for our memories and for this birthday.  I did this for Jordan's 13th and wanted to do it for Meg's 16th because I think it'll be neat to look back on it in 20 years and see how they've changed.  If I were a betting woman, I would bet that Meg will be much the same as she is now.

Happy birthday, my angel girl!  I love you!

Birthday breakfast this morning.

I guess we'll keep this tradition going until she turns 30, then?  Poor Jackson can barely fit under the table anymore, but we'll figure something out!