This October, Glo turned 17. Seventeen years of living with Glo. It's been one wild ride, and not one that I expected from my last child.
Glo was the absolute cutiest patootiest little girl. Everyone loved Glo. While my other children were pretty serious and stressed about life (you can blame John and me for that one), Glo made us laugh. And she did those crazy cute things that little kids do. She really was a perfect caboose to the Kennedy Kid train.
However, once Glo hit teenagedom, things changed. I expected her to have the rebellious two years that each of her siblings exhibited....and don't go crazy thinking of rebellion. Rebellion in our household consisted of Ethan cheating on a math test, Mark hiding in the bushes instead of doing his running, or Hannah busting into tears anytime she felt oppressed. John and I could handle all of this, and we learned that it wouldn't last forever.
Glo, however, has given us a run for our money, and it was only the past year that I began actually offering prayers that she would grow into a very different person from what she is. The worst part of it all is her sass. It's rather humorous to watch her siblings watch her talking back to any of us, and realize that John and I are doing nothing about it. For instance, I once sent Mark into the barbershop, and when I was still waiting in the car an hour later because he hadn't stepped up when it was his turn in line, I hit him with a wallet full of quarters when he got back in the car. Certainly Glo's talking back to us deserved a more severe form of punishment. For any of the other kids, it certainly would have. However, living with Glo by herself for the past few years, John and I have mostly just given up. We have yelled at her about it. We have ignored her. We have played the martyr cards. We've tried everything, but in the end, nothing makes a difference. She's going to talk to us like we are crap on the floor.
At least crap gets a spray of nice smelling Clorox spray and a soft paper towel....
However, a couple of months ago, things changed around here, and almost none of the credit goes to any of us. Well okay, I'm going to take at least 5% of the credit....
Glo is approaching the end of her time in the Young Women's program in the church, and she has yet to complete the Personal Progress program. Seeing as every other Kennedy child has completed their respective program...and done it in record time...the stress was building. And seeing as Glo has not been inspired at all by her youth leaders, I wasn't sure that there was any pressure or support from any outside sources.
One thing I did know? Glo wants to get out of Young Women's as soon as possible. She has not had any girl her age in our ward since we moved here ten years ago, so she's always been lumped in with the girls who are one or two grades lower than her. Think about that--being lumped in with girls in middle school when Glo is in high school. And, not to complain so much as to make a point, most of the activities are centered around cooking, baking and personal beauty tips. This for the girl who used the terms "swag", "fleek" and "anime" in daily conversation; a girl who can tell you the director of any and all movies (and histories behind those directors); a girl who actually teaches me things I didn't know on a daily basis; a girl and who will give up the opportunity to nap for a game of Halo with her brothers. Get the point?
So, I gave her an ultimatum. A most embarrassing ultimatum.
I told her that when she finished Personal Progress, she could stop going to Young Women's. Yes, folks, that's my 5%. And little did I know that it would be worth so much.
There has been a change in Glo. I noticed her holding her tongue when her father once again ate the last bite of some candy bar she had been nursing for the last two weeks. I noticed her helping without me asking. All in all, she was just nicer to be around. And I give the remaining 95% to her, and to the Personal Progress program.
She had set a goal to be a nicer person to John and me, and by all accounts, she was succeeding.
So where just last year I had been telling John that I would be happy when Glo finally left for college (and I was figuring out how she could actually go a semester earlier), I realized, as she was blowing out the candles on her 17th birthday cake, that it's going to tear my heart out when she leaves.
There was something special about that October 2nd. I was able to take a step back and look at this girl who had been my tag-a-long for years. And I realized that I had been unable to see the beauty through all the misery.
Glo jokingly brought it home one night recently. I was about to ask her to do something in my normal fashion: "Glo, would you...."
I got distracted at that moment, and Glo started filling in the blank.
"What Mama? Would I:
She meant it all in jest, but in all seriousness, this is what Glo has always been for me. It started years ago when I broke my ankle. It was just the two of us for most of the summer, and she did everything. We had puppies at the time, and she was only ten years old, but she took care of those puppies for weeks. And she never left my side.
And she has done nothing but take care of me since then. No joke, she does anything and everything I ask her to do. Not always with a smile on her face, or without an audible *huff*, but she always comes through for me.
And when we leave her for a week at a time at home, I have no fear that she won't take care of anything, because that's what Glo does. She takes care of me, and everyone around her.
When I think back on our lives together, I realize that she has become a crutch for me, sometimes literally through my health problems, and other times as a best friend. To this day, she still takes naps with me, curled up on the couch or snuggled up in my big, comfy bed. She makes us late-night nachos where she eats just one or two, leaving me all the rest :-) She keeps her room immaculate...and I never need to ask her to do it. And she understands that seeing her room clean is a big stress reliever for me. I have never helped her with her homework, because she takes care of it herself. I never have to remind her of an appointment because she remembers her own calendar. And sometimes she even remembers mine :-) Too, she has been my ultimate traveling buddy, wanting even more than me (if possible) to see the world. She reminds me to look at some cool cloud formation, or she finds some minuscule flower or plant that I would never even see. Too, she has a heart of gold. She thinks of people in that heart warming, completely unexpected way.
I feel so bad that I have wasted so many years focusing on the one or two things that have driven me crazy while forgetting to notice all of the good. When I think about my life without her (and yes, she will be gone next year on her birthday), I feel incredibly sad. I will miss her cuddling up with me on the couch in front of the tv, snacking on a plate of nachos, and listening to her commentary about the quality of the video footage, or soundtrack, or actor, or any other obscure detail I have missed.
I will miss this girl of mine. I'm not quite ready to get off the ride.
Glo was the absolute cutiest patootiest little girl. Everyone loved Glo. While my other children were pretty serious and stressed about life (you can blame John and me for that one), Glo made us laugh. And she did those crazy cute things that little kids do. She really was a perfect caboose to the Kennedy Kid train.
However, once Glo hit teenagedom, things changed. I expected her to have the rebellious two years that each of her siblings exhibited....and don't go crazy thinking of rebellion. Rebellion in our household consisted of Ethan cheating on a math test, Mark hiding in the bushes instead of doing his running, or Hannah busting into tears anytime she felt oppressed. John and I could handle all of this, and we learned that it wouldn't last forever.
Glo, however, has given us a run for our money, and it was only the past year that I began actually offering prayers that she would grow into a very different person from what she is. The worst part of it all is her sass. It's rather humorous to watch her siblings watch her talking back to any of us, and realize that John and I are doing nothing about it. For instance, I once sent Mark into the barbershop, and when I was still waiting in the car an hour later because he hadn't stepped up when it was his turn in line, I hit him with a wallet full of quarters when he got back in the car. Certainly Glo's talking back to us deserved a more severe form of punishment. For any of the other kids, it certainly would have. However, living with Glo by herself for the past few years, John and I have mostly just given up. We have yelled at her about it. We have ignored her. We have played the martyr cards. We've tried everything, but in the end, nothing makes a difference. She's going to talk to us like we are crap on the floor.
At least crap gets a spray of nice smelling Clorox spray and a soft paper towel....
However, a couple of months ago, things changed around here, and almost none of the credit goes to any of us. Well okay, I'm going to take at least 5% of the credit....
Glo is approaching the end of her time in the Young Women's program in the church, and she has yet to complete the Personal Progress program. Seeing as every other Kennedy child has completed their respective program...and done it in record time...the stress was building. And seeing as Glo has not been inspired at all by her youth leaders, I wasn't sure that there was any pressure or support from any outside sources.
One thing I did know? Glo wants to get out of Young Women's as soon as possible. She has not had any girl her age in our ward since we moved here ten years ago, so she's always been lumped in with the girls who are one or two grades lower than her. Think about that--being lumped in with girls in middle school when Glo is in high school. And, not to complain so much as to make a point, most of the activities are centered around cooking, baking and personal beauty tips. This for the girl who used the terms "swag", "fleek" and "anime" in daily conversation; a girl who can tell you the director of any and all movies (and histories behind those directors); a girl who actually teaches me things I didn't know on a daily basis; a girl and who will give up the opportunity to nap for a game of Halo with her brothers. Get the point?
So, I gave her an ultimatum. A most embarrassing ultimatum.
I told her that when she finished Personal Progress, she could stop going to Young Women's. Yes, folks, that's my 5%. And little did I know that it would be worth so much.
There has been a change in Glo. I noticed her holding her tongue when her father once again ate the last bite of some candy bar she had been nursing for the last two weeks. I noticed her helping without me asking. All in all, she was just nicer to be around. And I give the remaining 95% to her, and to the Personal Progress program.
She had set a goal to be a nicer person to John and me, and by all accounts, she was succeeding.
So where just last year I had been telling John that I would be happy when Glo finally left for college (and I was figuring out how she could actually go a semester earlier), I realized, as she was blowing out the candles on her 17th birthday cake, that it's going to tear my heart out when she leaves.
There was something special about that October 2nd. I was able to take a step back and look at this girl who had been my tag-a-long for years. And I realized that I had been unable to see the beauty through all the misery.
Glo jokingly brought it home one night recently. I was about to ask her to do something in my normal fashion: "Glo, would you...."
I got distracted at that moment, and Glo started filling in the blank.
"What Mama? Would I:
- get you a drink from the kitchen?
- get your toothbrush?
- get your pajama pants?
- get your floss?
- feed the dogs?
- let the dogs out?
- let the dogs in?
- feed Hootie?
- vacuum the kitchen?
- get you a snack?
- get your retainer?
- get your phone?
- get your charger?"
She meant it all in jest, but in all seriousness, this is what Glo has always been for me. It started years ago when I broke my ankle. It was just the two of us for most of the summer, and she did everything. We had puppies at the time, and she was only ten years old, but she took care of those puppies for weeks. And she never left my side.
And she has done nothing but take care of me since then. No joke, she does anything and everything I ask her to do. Not always with a smile on her face, or without an audible *huff*, but she always comes through for me.
And when we leave her for a week at a time at home, I have no fear that she won't take care of anything, because that's what Glo does. She takes care of me, and everyone around her.
When I think back on our lives together, I realize that she has become a crutch for me, sometimes literally through my health problems, and other times as a best friend. To this day, she still takes naps with me, curled up on the couch or snuggled up in my big, comfy bed. She makes us late-night nachos where she eats just one or two, leaving me all the rest :-) She keeps her room immaculate...and I never need to ask her to do it. And she understands that seeing her room clean is a big stress reliever for me. I have never helped her with her homework, because she takes care of it herself. I never have to remind her of an appointment because she remembers her own calendar. And sometimes she even remembers mine :-) Too, she has been my ultimate traveling buddy, wanting even more than me (if possible) to see the world. She reminds me to look at some cool cloud formation, or she finds some minuscule flower or plant that I would never even see. Too, she has a heart of gold. She thinks of people in that heart warming, completely unexpected way.I feel so bad that I have wasted so many years focusing on the one or two things that have driven me crazy while forgetting to notice all of the good. When I think about my life without her (and yes, she will be gone next year on her birthday), I feel incredibly sad. I will miss her cuddling up with me on the couch in front of the tv, snacking on a plate of nachos, and listening to her commentary about the quality of the video footage, or soundtrack, or actor, or any other obscure detail I have missed.
I will miss this girl of mine. I'm not quite ready to get off the ride.
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