She's legal in some places

So focused
Port Stanley, ON
September 2015

Our daughter, Dahlia, turns 18 today. Just writing it gives me pause. Even seeing the words on-screen seems surreal, because it only seems like yesterday we were celebrating her imminent arrival, then welcoming her into the world, then bringing her home, and settling into a very new life in a new city.

And yet, the calendar, the pictures, and the growing list of accomplishments of an already-accomplished young woman make it abundantly clear that she is very much coming into her own. And despite my issues with measuring and holding onto time - I'm always rushing to meet deadlines or get somewhere in time, and I'm always wishing I could slow time down a bit, or even stop it if the universe allowed - I can't stop thinking how lovely it is to have someone like her as a daughter.

On this day, we took a long walk along the beach. I had brought every camera I could scrounge up, and she of course chose the DSLR, as I knew and hoped she would. She threw it into manual mode - she's so my kid - and started reading the brightly sunlit scenes around her. I watched her work, almost seeing the wheels turning in her head as her eyes searched, then stopped as she pondered her next move.

Any parent would be enormously blessed to have a kid half as fundamentally good as she is. Kind, empathetic, sharp as a tack, funny as can be and an all around delight to simply spend time with. She's made the best of her first 18 years, and I already know she's more than ready for whatever the next 18 - and the next, and... - have in store for her.

Happy birthday, Peanut. Love you, kiddo.