Sixteen Years Old
My youngest daughter is now sixteen years old. The little girl that used to hold my leg when unsure, and raise her arms to be picked up when tired is somehow sixteen years old. She still walks up to me for hugs in the middle of the kitchen when stuck for something to do.
Once the smallest, she is now the tallest. She runs like the wind, and has an engine that most athletes would envy – and yet she doesn't show off, or realise her own potential. She's happy tagging along with whatever others are doing, although has the strongest sense of fairness and justice I know. Her sense of humor is razor sharp.
Where did the years go?
To mark her birthday, we all visited “Go Ape” yesterday – an outward bounds activity centre perhaps half an hour from home. They have various precarious paths strung high above the forest floor – requiring you to traverse cables, rope bridges, and zip lines – challenging yourself, and building confidence along the way.
At the end of the day we walked to the edge of the woods, and visited one of the locations for a rather famous series of movies. Black Park served as the grounds of Hogwards School throughout the Harry Potter movies, mostly because it backs onto the studios where the movies were made. It reminded me of visiting the woods near my cousin's old house in California – those woods became famous as the forest moon of Endor. There's a strong sense of having been there before when visiting.
My entire body aches this morning. Muscles were required that have not been used in quite some time. While waiting on a wooden platform high in the canopy yesterday, I watched the newly crowned Miss 16 from a distance and realised she had no fear, and total confidence in her own ability – which contrasted sharply with her sisters who clung with white knuckles to ropes, and repeatedly whispered encouragement (and swear words) at themselves while screwing their eyes tight shut.
She's heading to a huge park today to meet friends. A socially distanced “hang out”. I may end up chaperoning her to the edge of the park, then becoming surplus to requirements (other than as a source of money for coffee or ice cream). I'm not entirely sure what I might do, other than find a quiet spot to sit and read a book. We'll see.