Dear Morgan,
You're officially a teenager! How can that be? The saying goes that “time is a thief” and it's true. My oldest is no longer a baby. You have grown both in mind and body exponentially this year. It's been amazing to see the difference in you, but if I'm honest, also heartbreaking. I don't like watching my baby grow up. You'll understand one day.
We are finally coming out of the strict guidelines of Covid and that's partly because the vaccines are more widely available to everyone of all ages. We had you vaccinated and thankfully you didn't have any side effects other than a sore arm.
You attended your first Dallas Stars game and we were lucky enough to get to sit in box seats. You had a good time and loved getting to eat as many cookies as you wanted!
During the Christmas season, you performed with the Tiger Choir at the Hurst Tree Lighting and you also sang and performed on the drums and xylophone with the Performance Ensemble for the Holiday Show at school. You also volunteered to be a face painter at Family Fun Day and you had a line of kids waiting to get their faces painted. You also performed with the Honor Choir competing at Epic Water Park and achieving a Superior Rating and performing the Winter Concert at Trinity High School. You also went with the Tiger Choir and Performing Ensemble and competed at Epic Water Park and achieved another Superior Rating. Lastly, you participated in the Christmas Eve service at church.
Your Girl Scout troop bridged from Juniors to Cadettes during the holiday season and celebrated at a restaurant. You received a necklace in addition to a new vest.
We finished the year off flying high at iFly and celebrating the new year at the Ramos family's New Years Eve party.
Spring Break this year was in Fort Worth. You went to your first rodeo and we also visited the water gardens, and went down to the stockyards, watched the cattle drive, a re-enacted gun fight, walked through the maze, went to the Ft. Worth Zoo, and then you and your sister went to stay at your Auntie's house.
This year you went to Confirmation classes for most of the school year. At the end of the Confirmation classes in April, the church had a dinner for all of the Confirmands and their families and Pastor Holly had asked you if you would be willing to do the opening prayer for the dinner. I was so proud of you and I hope that you felt proud of yourself that she had picked you to do the honors. You had a faith partner named Courtney, who was your guide through most of the classes and I think you really enjoyed learning more about the Methodist Church and developing a closer relationship with God. On the day of Confirmation, we invited all of the family to come and then we celebrated at home afterwards with food and cake. Dad and I gave you a James Avery charm bracelet with a Confirmation charm that has the date engraved on it.
Field Day looked a little different this year. The 6th graders were helpers vs. participants and you loved it! You were given a whistle and a game to cover and you had so much fun “bossing” the other kids around. I received so many compliments from various teachers about what a great job you did!
You had some final choir performances before the end of school. You had an Honor Choir performance at LD Bell High School, which totally made me cry! You also had a Performing Ensemble performance where you played several instruments. You've always been musically inclined, but I was so impressed with your ability to be able to play so many different instruments.
You participated in a couple of Girl Scout events before school let out. You went to an iFly event and you also went to an overnight excursion with your sister to NASA in Houston. You had a great time, but you both were so tired when you got back.
You attended the 6th grade end-of-year dance and I was a chaperone at the event. It looked like you had a good time with your friends and I watched you dance a couple of times. I even convinced you to take some pictures with me in the photo booth.
6th grade ended with the clap-out and we were there clapping really loudly because we were so super proud of you. You received so many awards that day, including receiving straight A's. It was a great day! You were hugging teachers and friends and saying your goodbyes. It was bittersweet, as you were also saying goodbye to your elementary school.
Summer fun started immediately with a beach trip to Rockport with Grammy, Aunt Robin, and Gracie. We had so much fun exploring the cute town, shopping, eating, and of course enjoying the beach. There were so many other fun things you did this summer including Scout Day at the Rangers Game where you got to walk the field with the Girl Scouts. You attended Digital Anime Camp at Art Castle and made a mug and a button and a lot of digital art. You also went to Glen Lake Camp, which is your favorite thing to do during the summer! You had a blast as usual and even cried with your new friends when you had to leave. You also got braces this summer on June 29th! You were not excited at all and your teeth hurt for several days. You were living on yogurt and soup for a while.
Our family summer trip this year was to visit Grandma Muriel in Montreal, Canada. We did so many things in the week that we were there. We started with a tour of Montreal, we had many dinners with Grandma Muriel, we attended the International Fireworks Competition and Canada did not disappoint! We did some shopping, we visited Olympic Park, we also got to meet your cousin Christine, we visited the Biodome and the Vans Skatepark, we went to the Barbie Expo, and we went to the Notre Dame Basilica and watched the Aura light show, we went to Old Port and rode the Ferris Wheel and visited the Science Museum, we then took a day tour to Quebec City and saw the Montmorency Falls, and took a cruise on the St. Lawrence river, and walked around the city.
Summer was almost over and Hurst Junior High was hosting Raider Camp for all of the incoming 7th graders. You and I attended the camp together and they had a big pep rally to start it off and get everyone excited. After the pep rally, they split the students from the parents and each of us learned more about the school. At the end, we toured the school and you got an idea of where all of your classes were going to be so that you weren't completely lost on the first day.
Shortly after Raider Camp, you started feeling sick and tested positive for Covid. We had you quarantined up in your room, which you loved and I hated. From the time we had returned from Canada I felt like something had changed with you. I felt like you were pulling away from me, which made me want to reach for you more. I don't know if it was actually happening, but it felt that way and it was making me really sad. I tried to tell you how I felt, but I don't think really understood. You kept telling me nothing was different. Looking back, I realize now that you were slowly changing into a teenager and when I realized that you were entering Junior High, it hit me like a ton of bricks and made me very emotional. It had everything to do with me and almost nothing to do with you. You were still Morgan and just being a teenager, I was just having a really hard time adjusting to it. I cried A LOT for about a month after you started Junior High just trying to accept things and even now I'm still trying to accept it.
You recovered from Covid and were able to start school without a problem. The school hosted an Open House and we were able to visit with all of your teachers and we found out that your Math teacher had put your name on the wall because you were at 100%.
We celebrated your 13th birthday at Alley Cats this year with a fun group of friends. You bowled, played laser tag, and played in the arcade.
No comments:
Post a Comment