personality – Peaceful Reader

(First trip to NYC)

which is a major celebration! This girl has been featured on this blog almost her entire life. I started Peaceful Reader when she was in kindergarten and now she is a freshman in college. We celebrated this major birthday with dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant and there were gifts and delicious vegan desserts. She’s not vegan but her brother is and everyone wants to share in birthday treats. Because I spent part of the weekend visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Deephaven, MN I had the opportunity to visit a cool vegan bakery/restaurant Vegan East, and purchased a box full of treats to bring home. They have 3 locations and I stopped by the Uptown shop which took me through some familiar neighborhoods. I passed by Lake Calhoun, Lake Street, and Hennepin Avenue, and my favorite Walker Art Center; all places I loved hanging around when I lived in Mpls/St. Paul.

She is enjoying her freshman year even with it’s unusual Covid-19 restrictions. It’s a long list of negatives yet she is making it work and smiling! G.G. and her roommate spend a lot of time in their room and luckily they don’t seem to be getting on each other’s last nerve, which is fantastic. Most classes are on Zoom but she has two dance classes that meet in big studios. This is great as she is very used to being active and dance + Zoom is not a good combo.

(Dad ride)

All of our children are unique and inspiring and Groovy Girl, as the baby of the family, brings a level of happiness that is often infectious. She gets very excited and we love her enthusiasm for life. She cares about the world, is empathetic toward others, and will continue to make a difference as she grows. I appreciate that she loves many different styles of food, can cook a great meal, and is willing to experiment with spices and sauces. I’m surviving the empty nest but only because she and I talk at least every other day. She texts me when she needs to talk and we FaceTime when we need to see each other. Communication is so different now. My husband and I compared our experience of having one dorm phone on each floor! We had to take turns so I talked to my parents maybe once a week if that.

(Groovy Girl now (r) w/ her roommate Laurel)

When I began this blog I didn’t want to use her real name as it is unusual and over the years she has had readers call her “Groovy Girl” which made her feel a little like a blog celebrity. Even though she is a beautiful 18 as of last Saturday she will always be my Groovy Girl!

{G.G. and her brother}

Seriously no way. It just can’t be possible that my baby born 3′ 4 ” is now my height and can wear my shoes if she likes them.

{G.G.and her big sis Kalila}

She is a blessing and a miracle. She is lovely and wonderful. She is also disorganized, somewhat spastic, and slightly irresponsible. Yet she keeps track of her contacts~still a mystery to me. Those are all characteristics of hers that are just part of what makes her who she is. Her college roommate will have to help her find her phone, she will probably be the girl turning cartwheels across the quad, happy that she still wears her Nike Pros underneath her dresses and I know she will find someone out there who loves her for all those quirky attributes.

What I dislike are people who make those qualities a negative for her. She had some amazing teachers in elementary school and one of them in particular clarified to me how some kids are just like that; creative, forgetful, absent-minded yet delightful. Not a negative. I used to feel like I had to apologize a bit for her ability to stray. Her teacher’s words to me after Groovy Girl had lost a school project was simply one of reassurance and I’ve tried to stick with that method. She is who she is and I am grateful for her kind smile every day.

Happy 14th birthday Groovy Girl~you are an amazing child/young woman/daughter.

Tag: personality

Groovy Girl turns 18…

Groovy Girl turns 14