Lydia turned 8 on Friday!! She has turned out so beautifully. Abe and I are always talking about how well she has blossomed. Our favorite thing about Lydia is her heart. She has a kind and honest heart, and she lives from a space of remarkable integrity. In her whole life, I have never known her to lie to me. Ever. And she is so forgiving, so affectionate, and so sweet to her flawed and often irritable mom. I love her so much.
She is also such a hard worker, not to mention so smart! She has worked SO hard at reading, to the point where she went from being the worst reader in her class to the most proficient reader in her class. That accomplishment is one hundred percent her decision and her determination. She didn’t want to be the only one reading picture books while her friends read chapter books, so she came home after parent teacher conferences, announced she was going to become a good reader, and practiced, practiced, practiced.
And now she has read all of the Harry Potter books, all of the Percy Jackson series, and a lot of other books besides. We are so proud of her. For that reason, and because eight is a special birthday in our church culture–which views eight as the “age of accountability,” an age where children have the capacity to exercise full free will–we decided to celebrate Lydia’s birthday by taking her to California.
On her actual birthday, though, Abe had to work, so we let her stay home for the morning and early afternoon to enjoy her special day.
After the presents and celebrations, the kids played while I packed and got the house ready for our trip. Then Abe came home around 2pm, we all piled in the car, and drove to the airport for our 5pm flight.
When we got to Long Beach, we rented a car and then drove to Hollywood to check into our Airbnb, which happened to be Ronald Reagan’s old apartment!!! We also got some pizza from a place nearby that looked gross but tasted so delicious.
Happy birthday, darling, wonderful Lydia! You light up my life. I adore you.