Happy 15th Birthday, P.!

Today is P.'s 15th birthday. Fifteen always seems as though it's a bigger leap from fourteen than other years, doesn't it? We will be celebrating tomorrow night because of various schedules, but we had donuts this morning. (Donuts without any additional protein which would explain the complete and total meltdown from L. in the middle of the morning. It took me longer than it should have to figure out what was going on, but when I did, a bowl of peanuts help pull her back from the brink.) We won't be singing,"Happy Birthday to You," though. I promised we wouldn't as it is something P. really, really, really doesn't enjoy.

P. is my animal lover and I have really enjoyed having our Wednesday afternoons together at the stable for our riding lessons. She is becoming quite a proficient horsewoman and is routinely jumping small fences now. P. and I also share some other interests.... travel, languages, having time alone, oh, and that dislike of being sung to-thing. Of all my children, she reminds me the most of myself when I was her age. If she has her way, I will lose her a year early, too, but for a different reason than A. P. is really interested in participating in an exchange year either next year (her junior year) or the year after. She has done immense amounts of research and will be working on applying some time soon. Despite me telling all my children to stop growing up, they insist on doing so. It's a good thing I like the older versions of my children as much as the younger ones.

So, Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter. I love who you are now and can't wait to see what you do in the future. I love you very much, and I may even tackle you at some point today to give you a birthday hug.