This is where our relationship starts. Sort of.
I was the one who caught you when you popped out, and I didn’t leave you for a moment. Under the lights in the recovery room, you grabbed my thumb with your impossibly tiny fingers and opened your eyes. It was already you there, behind your eyes. You stared straight into my eyes, and pursed your lips, just as you do. You didn’t need words to say, “What are you looking at?”
You have changed, but you haven’t changed at all.
I have two memories to share with you, in honor of your graduation. From the early days of tricking you into brushing your teeth properly by counting to twenty in various exotic languages (like Latin and Nahuatl), to your recent tutoring gig in Chinese, your fascination with languages has always been apparent. I knew you were destined to study languages and cultures when you tried to convince me that butty-ho was actually French for friend. The real story is that you and your preschool friends had gotten in trouble for calling each other buttholes on the playground, and your solution was to invent the pseudo-French word butty-ho as cover. I was not convinced, incidentally.
My second memory on this day of culmination is the first meeting we had with Ms. Szabo, the IB advisor at Anderson. That was the day I stopped thinking you needed parents. Ms. S asked you what you were thinking of studying in the IB program, and to my very great surprise, you pulled a folded sheet of paper out of your purse and said, “I thought it might go something like this.” You had mapped out your entire high school career, IB exams included. I remember looking at you and thinking, “Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?” Then you looked at me, and I realized — again — that you were there all along.
Nature distributes her gifts unevenly, but she was generous to you. You have a great memory. You have a good ear for music — and for truth. You’re graceful, smart, stubborn, witty, obnoxious, independent, loyal, creative, caring, frighteningly sarcastic, and you’re solid. If I were heading into battle, I’d want you on my side. And I’d think twice if you weren’t.
I’m proud of you, and I am convinced that the world is better with you in it.
祝贺
papa