Sevens

I once read that a body goes through a major transformation every seven years. If you think about it, it's kind of true.

At seven, we are wrapped up in dreams of birthday parties, Santa, sleepovers, lollipops, bike rides, candy bars, and mom can fix everything with a kiss and a hug.

At fourteen, our worlds revolve around friends and weekend plans. We need our parents for rides to our next social event: school dances or school sporting events or school. Our lives are ruled by school and our school friendships and school drama. Mom cannot fix everything with a kiss and a hug, but she is always there in the background.

At 21, we start to realize that the world is bigger than us. We are just one person in this great big world. We need our moms, our dreams, and our friendships too. So, fast forward these seven facts to seven times six.

Devyn's parents have been asked to describe their youngest child to the middle school teachers as she transitions from elementary student to middle schooler. Somehow this child is now a teenager in a teenage world with old parents. Her mom writes this essay:

Devyn in a Million Words or Less

I told her that I was going to simply locate her sister’s essays and change the name.  The joke was that I changed the name from Blaire to Phiona when her middle sister had gone to the middle school and now it was time to switch it over to Devyn. 

Devyn was not amused. 

Middle Schoolers need to get better senses of humor. Typically Devyn is bubbly and happy and would find my jokes funny.

I guess this is what happens when you are the youngest child and are tired of receiving the hand me downs and cast offs all the time. 

She has the tired parents, the parents who don’t attend every meeting with a notebook and eagerly take notes and ask questions. We don’t sign up for all of events and activities - we may not even know that the event is occurring until after the event has happened and been written about in the newspaper.  In fact, we don’t even get the paper to read about the events.

Poor Devyn.  But she is always resilient and smiling. She tells us she is fine. Always.

Devyn has had lots of adventures in her life.  She was sworn in as a Junior Ranger in many National and State Parks.  Her favorite by far was Mount Rainier National Park.  My favorite image is of her wearing her Junior Ranger vest and hat, pointing the direction up the pathway at Arches National Park. She was probably about five years old at the time completely in charge of guiding us around the park. 

She has an uncanny sense of direction. 

She once navigated us through the streets of Seattle to the Space Needle without a map or any hints from us. She was born with an internal compass that I pray continues to guide her through life in the proper direction and towards success and happiness.

Devyn loves to start books.  She abandons them on a regular basis.

Math is a funny thing for her.  She understands the concepts easily, but has a hard time applying them.  Does this make sense?  She can solve problems in her head faster than she can on paper.  The years she had teachers who taught Math “the old fashioned way” (not Common Core units), she had much more success. 

Devyn frustrates quickly and easily, then she will shut down.  She knows to take slow calming breaths to refocus her energy and mind, but may need a gentle reminder to just breathe. 

If she asks to leave, she is probably going to the bathroom to cry.  She does not like to show weakness or vulnerability.  She thinks asking for help means that she is stupid or dumb.

Creativity is her passion.  Singing, drawing, painting, making slime in all colors and textures, sewing (she has designed two dresses and sewn them with my mom), and she plays the violin. 

Devyn also enjoys playing on-line games with her friends and chatting with them (mostly chatter and giggles as she sits in the living room while on the computer!). 

She is also a dolphin swimmer.  She has been swimming for four years, maybe more?  Again, third child, I don’t remember exactly when one thing ended and another started, I am just the taxi service really!  Anyway, Devyn has been swimming for a long time now and loving it.  She actively recruited her friends a couple years back and was able to convince a couple of them to join. 

Devyn does not want to do any other sport, at this time, that her sisters have done or are doing.  She wants to do her own thing.  Kudos to her.  There are so many more things that she is not saying hidden behind her words. I just want to hug her and tell her, I get it.  I understand.

I think you have a bit of a picture now.  Let me know if you want or need more details about Devyn at any time.  She thrives on smiles and stories and happiness.  Hopefully you have already fallen in love with her, or you will soon. Enjoy her, she is sweet. 

Jump ahead again, not seven years quite yet...only five. Life hasn't had enough time to make a total transformation to this child. But...

....but

Where did this child go?

Where is the happy, giggling child who chatted and giggled with her friends while sitting in the living room? Why does she hide upstairs in her dark bedroom now?

How has the child who had the built in compass, who always had such a strong sense of direction, gotten so lost?

When did the hugs stop healing the hurts?

I'm searching for the happy in the ever after. I'm listening for the laughter.

Maybe she needs me to go buy her a compass.