As of 5:29 PM today, Andrea is celebrating day 5,478 of life. For the record, I asked ChatGPT to calculate that for me, and it didn’t include the three leap days that we’ve had. So, while artificial intelligence may take over the world someday, today is not that day. The 10.5-inch baby is now measuring 5’ 2”, although she constantly wishes to be taller. Nothing we say can get her to appreciate the almost 600% increase in her height since birth. I’m hoping that someday, she’ll see the perks of being petite.
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| I don't have a birthday picture to post. This is Andrea's door this morning. Apologies to anyone who speaks Italian and finds all my translation errors. |
In some ways, the past year was really eventful, but in others, it was just normal life. Between March and June of 2023, Andrea successfully wrapped up middle school. She had the opportunity to sing with the 8th-grade chorus at the Dorney Park Music Festival in Pennsylvania, which was a wonderful experience. (I got to attend as a chaperone!) The chorus sang for two adjudicators and the teacher was provided with feedback about their performance. (They were awesome, especially considering it was a crazy-early start to the day) After the singing, they got to spend the day at Dorney Park, (an amusement park in Lehigh County, PA, for the non-locals who read this). The year ended with the 8th grade trip to Hershey Park, in Hershey, PA. The event was overshadowed by the Canadian wildfires… for a while, it looked like the whole thing would be canceled, but they were able to pull it off. Andrea was happy to spend a day just hanging out with her friends. The middle school had a moving-up ceremony to celebrate the students' accomplishments. I cried a lot less than I expected to.
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| Middle School Moving Up Ceremony |
This past summer, Andrea had her first job. She has attended day camps since the summer after Kindergarten. From June until early August, she was a counselor in training, working with children ranging in age from about 6 up to 11 or 12. She found it to be a challenging experience but was willing to give it another shot this year, and has applied for a job at the same camp as a junior counselor. If she’s accepted, she’ll actually get paid, which is an exciting next step for her.
After camp ended, we took our annual vacation, this time to my favorite place in the world, Boothbay Harbor, Maine. It was definitely one of the best trips we’ve ever taken as a family and we got to enjoy everything the area has to offer. Andrea actually braved the Atlantic Ocean to swim - the water temperature was 62° F the day she went in. She also went kayaking with Ken and the brothers and we all enjoyed two boat trips - one a wildlife cruise, the other on a windjammer. And for us, no trip to Maine is complete without climbing the rocks at Pemaquid Point.
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| This was either right before, or right after, the kayaking |
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| And here's the kayaking. Andrea and Dad together |
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| Climbing the rocks at Pemaquid Point |
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| Braving the ocean at Pemaquid Beach |
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| They're all crazy! |
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| On the Windjammer |
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| Family dinner on our last night in Maine |
September brought the first day of 9th grade as Andrea started her last new school. Right before we went away, she decided to get a dramatic haircut. She’s had very long hair basically forever, and she made the decision to get it all cut off, into what she tells me is a “wolf cut”. It suits her so well and the shorter hair has made the mornings MUCH less stressful. Plus, she looks adorable.
The new haircut
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| First Day of School |
She is taking Italian now, and loving it, forcing me to remember what I learned in the mid-to-late 80s so we can carry on a conversation. She’s also taking metal work, creating some beautiful jewelry pieces, and singing in the chorus. She’s joined a few clubs, including the stage crew for the school drama productions and a singing group called the Shirley Tempos. She has also continued with her ceramics work outside of school. Her art skills are amazing, but she’s her own worst critic. She has asked that I don’t show pictures of things she’s created. She’s very talented, but didn’t want me to post anything. Since she is a good sport about the rest of my blogging, I didn’t think it was worth nudging her on this point.
The fall passed in a blur with Halloween and Thanksgiving sort of getting squeezed in around the rest of our lives, and Christmas was its usual crazy family time. We cut our tree at St. Paul’s Abbey and Andrea took a turn with the saw. She still let the boys carry it back to the car though. I think this was the first year that there were NO toys under the tree. Andrea wanted clothes, jewelry, cell phone accessories, and concert tickets. Next year’s birthday post will report on the experience she has at the Melanie Martinez concert this spring.
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| Cutting our Christmas tree |
Every year I’m thankful for every minute we’ve had together as a family. I’m grateful that there are still people who look forward to this annual post and follow Andrea’s story. When we were still in the NICU, one of her nurses told us that “someday, you won’t even think about this whole experience”. Ken & I thought she was crazy - we’re both scarred in some ways by having lived through the ordeal. But honestly, the nurse was right. Most of the time, Andrea is like every other person her age. She’s got a great group of friends, and a variety of interests, gets good grades in school, and loves her family. Once in a while, I have the opportunity to tell her story, and it feels like it was another life, or that it happened to someone else. We got so lucky with our outcome, and we’re luckier still in the person that Andrea is growing up to be.
Buon compleanno bella Andrea.
Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along,
Tell me who wants to look back on their years
and wonder where those years have gone.
~Garth Brooks, The Dance
