dashcat
Member
And what a long, strange trip it's been.
As a baby and young child, she was pure delight. Her dad and I were convinced she as a genius, headed for an ivy league college (on a scholarship, of course!) and to a future filled with friends and endless possiblities. She was bright, funny, musically talented and personable. And she still has those qualities, although now they have taken on a very different form.
For her sixth birthday party, we went to the local Goodwill and bought a bunch of old formals (Saturday was 1/2 price day and we got them for a few dollars each), and six little girls ran around my yard, waving fairly wands, wearing thes comical dresses. I took photos and thought I'd be photographing many of these same girls in real dresses as they went to prom. I still friends from when I was that age, and I assumed she would, too.
Slowly, things began to change. She resisted doing homework, and the lying (something I thought was a pre-school phase) got worse. As the years went on, the friends dropped off. We moved her to a private school to give her a fresh start and it was .. for a short time. The boy crazies ...there from the very start, got to be out of hand. Around the age of 17-18, I started to realize there was something very, very wrong. By then her dad was gone and he became Uncle Dad, the fun one. To this day, be believes that there is nothing wrong. It's just a phase. By age 19, she was a full blown difficult child. Sometimes I look back at the photos ...from even a few years ealier, and I cannot believe it is the same person.
I've had to let go of the child she was and love the adult she has become. I do love and accept her, but I worry about how she will function in the real world. I worry about how it feels inside her head and I pray that she can find some peace and reconcilliation.
For her birthday, I am taking her Ziplining! It seems appropriate somehow. In any case, it should be fun and a bit of an adventure. I'll post details after the fact.
Dash
As a baby and young child, she was pure delight. Her dad and I were convinced she as a genius, headed for an ivy league college (on a scholarship, of course!) and to a future filled with friends and endless possiblities. She was bright, funny, musically talented and personable. And she still has those qualities, although now they have taken on a very different form.
For her sixth birthday party, we went to the local Goodwill and bought a bunch of old formals (Saturday was 1/2 price day and we got them for a few dollars each), and six little girls ran around my yard, waving fairly wands, wearing thes comical dresses. I took photos and thought I'd be photographing many of these same girls in real dresses as they went to prom. I still friends from when I was that age, and I assumed she would, too.
Slowly, things began to change. She resisted doing homework, and the lying (something I thought was a pre-school phase) got worse. As the years went on, the friends dropped off. We moved her to a private school to give her a fresh start and it was .. for a short time. The boy crazies ...there from the very start, got to be out of hand. Around the age of 17-18, I started to realize there was something very, very wrong. By then her dad was gone and he became Uncle Dad, the fun one. To this day, be believes that there is nothing wrong. It's just a phase. By age 19, she was a full blown difficult child. Sometimes I look back at the photos ...from even a few years ealier, and I cannot believe it is the same person.
I've had to let go of the child she was and love the adult she has become. I do love and accept her, but I worry about how she will function in the real world. I worry about how it feels inside her head and I pray that she can find some peace and reconcilliation.
For her birthday, I am taking her Ziplining! It seems appropriate somehow. In any case, it should be fun and a bit of an adventure. I'll post details after the fact.
Dash
