Ava is 16. I can’t believe this is real. It’s so hard to imagine this day when you’re holding a new little baby. It’s unimagineable, but then it happens. This amazing kid has been a sweet steady presence all her life. She is easy to get along with, and also sets reasonable expectations for herself and for others. She is gentle with her words and actions, but she’s not a pushover. She’s kind of messy, although she loves her space to look nice. She loves to shop at thrift stores, and any stores really. She has way too many clothes, but always thinks there’s more to get. She loves hand-me-downs too. She is still enthralled by her little dog. She knows he’s the cutest animal to ever walk the earth. She has many friends, although her favorite thing is to be at home watching her favorite show WHILE doing nail art on herself. She’s definitely a home body, and the thought of leaving home for too long is VERY stressful to her. So, she’s having very mixed feelings about a 16th birthday trip to Italy gifted by one of her favorite aunts. She desperately wants to go, and is also desperately anxious about it!
She and I agree on most things and rarely have conflict. It’s not what I expected of my first teenager, and I’m so so grateful! I keep expecting things to change any day, but we really do just get along. We like most of the same things and can basically read each others’ minds. She wants a car and even knows exactly which car (a very old and “cute” Honda CRV), but she’s not ready to get her driver’s license or even start driver’s training! Her favorite movie is 50 First Dates (mine too!), and her favorite TV show is Parks and Recreation. She doesn’t like watching sad or scary shows or movies EVER.
Ava still does not like sleep, and often struggles to get enough although she doesn’t fight about it. She loves to run, but has been struggling with a very slow healing injury sustained halfway through the cross country season and had to miss the entire track and field season. She is very committed to healing and does her physical therapy regularly. She hopes to be all better for the start of the next cross country season. Long distance is definitely her thing, and she loves being part of a team. Her favorite foods are frozen blueberries and sushi.
School is a place she doesn’t hate to be, although she does sometimes get tired of the work and can get easily annoyed by her peers after a long week. A full day of school definitely drains the small amount of extrovert energy she has, and she loves her alone time to recover. She’s an excellent student. I never have to tell her to do her homework or study, and she has been getting all A’s in high school so far. I think she’s finally starting to believe that she’s a good writer and enjoying that. She has a WONDERFUL English teacher who is giving her lots of inspiration and confidence.
Ava is an animal lover, an artist, and a really good person. I’m so lucky to have her as my daughter!
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