Sixteen? Already?

The day after we returned from Cuba, Glory turned sweet sixteen. I expected this event to be somewhat momentous, but she took it all in stride.

We knew she was planning a dinner out with friends for Friday (with next to no involvement from us!), so we ate at home on Tuesday, asking Glory to pick out dinner. Weeknight cooking doesn't normally allows us a lot of latitude, but there was no dance tonight, so there were a lot of options for her to choose from. She quickly settled on chicken lasagna.

"The frozen kind?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm," she confirmed.

I was a bit puzzled. "But, why?"

An elegant shrug that seemed more fitting for a Parisian matron than an Edmonton teen, along with the rejoinder, "I just like those ones; they're good."

Our youngest daughter has never been the easiest one to anticipate - or even understand, at times. From a very early age she has been keen on charting her own path; sometimes away from her family, sometimes away from her classmates, sometimes just away from her older sister. Despite their distinctiveness and many idiosyncrasies, Glory has been intent on being her own person, even if she can't always explain how or why at the drop of a hat; it's one of the reason she has focused on dance.

As a baby, even her hair helped her to stand out from the crowd:

No product, just an aversion to gravity.

(Does this remind anyone else a bit of the old Jolt Cola ads, or is it just me?)

Glory doesn't have a lot of memories of this time, as you might expect, but she's heard the stories: about how many of our neighbours knew her as 'Spike', and not by her given name; how I would carry her through a shopping mall and watch people do double-takes after passing by. Maybe her trailblazing spirit was spawned at this time, or maybe the hair was a byproduct of her personality, who can say?

Over the years though, she has remained true to her heart, loyal to her friends, and loving to her family. She has learned how to keep her frustration in check when things don't go her way (to a degree many adults might be jealous of), and although she is still quiet around most other people, she is allowing a slightly wider circle to see her zanier side, which is delightful.

I caught Glory and her bestie, Brooklyn, at the door as they prepared to go out for a parentless dinner with some of their friends. Looking at the picture, it is hard to reconcile the baby I once knew with this young lady almost ready to take her driver's license test.

Simple, honest, lovely, loving and loyal - everyone should be so lucky as to have a daughter, best friend, niece, grand-daughter, god-daughter, classmate or dance buddy like my girl.

Happy birthday, Bug.