As pleased as I am with her many accomplishments, my only true desire for her is that she would be true to herself and hopefully make the world better for her being in it. On that second part, she makes my world better any time that she is a part of it. I want her to be whomever she needs to be wherever she needs to be, but I do feel such joy when I get to be around her. Thus, I am so happy that she is joining Katrina and her family as they visit us next week.
When I hit thirty, more so than any other year, I was full of chagrin at the things that I had not yet accomplished in my life. I spent a good part of the year leading up to that birthday teaching myself to juggle and learning how to play the guitar as a way to mitigate that frustration with myself. It was years before I finally felt at peace with who I am (even if I still try to work at being better), but there was something about the pressure of that 30th birthday that made me disappointed with myself as a person, who I was to others, and what I had accomplished. I had no idea how much better life would get from there.
I pray that Alex realizes just how much she has achieved and how much better life gets from this point on. For now, I'm just looking forward to being around her for a little while again. She's no longer that tiny child who brought meaning into my life, but she still fills me with joy.