This week marks a milestone in your life Anna. I can’t tell you how proud of you I am
because words can’t convey the amount of love and respect I have for you. Perhaps it’s so easy for me to remember back
to my own 8th grade graduation (though I don’t think there was a
ceremony) because that 8th grade year had marked such a huge change
in my life. Not only had my grandmother
died the summer before 8th grade but we had moved from Texas to
Oklahoma and I had left behind my BFF Joni Rasbury.
I remember getting on the bus that first day of 8th
grade with my white jeans and smiley face t-shirt, lugging my cornet and a
lunch sack, scared out of my wits. And
making my first real friend in Oklahoma, Cheryl Cawley Lorenz. Cheryl took pity on me I think and we became
fast friends. That year would be the
year I discovered boys starting with a crush on a boy named Scott and then
moving quickly on to being in love with too many to name, culminating with
going steady and getting my first kiss on the band bus by Robert Weeks. LOL
And as scary as that first day of 8th grade was,
going into 9th grade was even more terrifying. By then the “new girl from Texas” label had
worn off and I was just ordinary again.
I was not part of the ‘in” crowd, but not one of the “weirdo crowd”
either.
What I remember most is wanting to fit in and struggling for
the next 4 years of High School to do just that. It was not one of the best times of my life
(that would come later when I became a mom) but it was bearable. I had my first real love and consequently my
first real heart break in High School. I
lost friends, gained friends and spent a great deal of time fretting over
whether my clothes were ok, how to cover that tiny little zit on my face that
felt like a boulder, trying not to say
or do the wrong thing and become victim to the mean girls. Every day felt like a day that I could mess
up and be ruined forever.
Let me tell you this my sweet Anna! If I had it to do over again I wouldn’t have
cared what other people thought. Those
classmates who were the “elite” of the school ended up being ordinary people later in life. Looking back I wish I had tried harder to “not
fit in” to be myself, to pursue my passions even if someone might have labeled
me nerdy or weird. That girl who had no
voice in high school, who did her best not to stand out or to be noticed would have been more like the
woman I am today.
As I anticipate going to my 40th class reunion
this September, and performing my comedy for a group of people, some of whom I was
genuinely afraid of in high school, I feel a sense of relief that I am who I
am. I don’t have to fade into the
background or try to impress. I can
simply enjoy being the me that God
created me to be.
And that is what I wish for you. That the next 4 years every time someone hurts
your feelings, or you don’t get the part in the play, or the spot on the team,
or the invite to the “party” that everyone cool is going to. That when someone thinks you are weird
because you like art or science or wear the wrong shoes for the season, or some
boy rejects you, or some girlfriend decides that they like another friend
better that you will have the strength
to look at the situation and say to yourself “this too shall pass” and keep on
being who you are, not changing to please anyone else.
You are a unique young woman Anna. I have loved you from the moment you
were born. When my mom (MEME) died when you were just 2
years old, I was devastated not just for
our family’s loss but for her missing out on your growing up . She would be so very proud of the young lady
you have grown to be. You are beautiful
inside and out, your are smart, you are talented, you have a big heart. I don’t
think there is a mean bone in your body.
I have watched you interact with other kids, with adults and lately with
the Alzheimer’s patient where Papa lives.
You are kind and caring, empathetic and graceful in the most awkward of
situation…..”who’s gonna dress me?” lol….
I have enjoyed every year of your life and am so grateful that
I was close enough to be a part of it.
From the first kid birthday party where we made build a bears at home,
to your 13th scavenger hunt at the mall, from making bunny cakes and
cupcakes shaped like high heels (we could go on pintrest fails), to the annual
Christmas puppet show, to seeing your many dance recitals (and the tutu
meltdown) lol.
You are so loved by so many and I know that you will be
grounded in faith and love throughout the next few years of your life. Congratulations Anna on a life well lived and
a future as bright as the stars.
Aunt LeeAnn
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