D'arcy is seventeen and a senior. She's back in school full time (for now) after a year of Covid craziness. We are hoping this virus gets under control so she can finish up her year and go on her senior trip to Belize.
She has a permit, a bank account, and a check book. Her full schedule doesn't allow for a steady job, but she's out their busking and babysitting to earn some money.
She's a night hour away from getting her license. Her flexible schedule while doing virtual school allowed me to take her out every Wednesday last winter, and we let her drive all the way to South Carolina for vacation. She conquered driving in downtown Atlanta and the Tennessee mountains. She was not great at turning or staying in her lane when we started, but I think she's almost ready. I've been the kind of driving coach that yells, "Is that how you want to die?" when she pulls out without being able to fully see what's coming. We haven't been in too much of a hurry because she will still be predominantly taking the redline to and from school and practices.
The redline and friends with cars has given her a lot of new freedom. I no longer have to plan activities to fill her summer. Instead, I'm just trying to keep track of where she's going, with who, and how she's getting there. We use an app to track her and it even gives us an idea of how fast her friends are driving. But that doesn't replace a good ol' text from her communicating her whereabouts. She has asked questions recently like, Can I have a beer too? and Can I sleep over at a boy's house with a whole group of friends? She's trustworthy but I'm learning how to maintain boundaries unemotionally with teenagers.
She has a great group of friends that survived some relational challenges last winter. They come to each other's sports games and exchange baked goods at Christmas and birthdays. They play tennis, picnic, swim, watch movies, and play frustrated games of monopoly. It's beautiful to see your child loved.
It delights me to watch her hit serves playing JV volleyball and lose with class on the tennis court. She ministers to me when she sings up front at church. She is toying with the idea of going to IU (Indiana University) next year. She wants to major in a math or science, minor in music, and have some sort of cross cultural experience. I want her to really consider the financial implications of college without closing her mind to possibility. It's fun to feel the change coming but not have it fully revealed yet.
Until then, you'll find her in her third floor walk up attic apartment (that happened this year!) writing essays to finish IB, watching New Girl or Gilmore girls on repeat, listening to musicals, making delicious macarons or playing Olivia Rodrigo on the piano.
I have been rewatching Friday Night Lights, and when Tami Taylor said this, I teared up. "I got my dream. I went to a good school. I got the degree I wanted. I met your dad, and I had you. You're my dream, baby. I got what I wanted. I got it all. And now it's your job to dream up whatever you want, and I will support you to the ends of the earth to do that." Excited to see what's ahead for this gal.
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