Happy Graduation, Sophie

It's unbelievable to me, and to be honest - it still hasn't quite hit me, that Sophie's high school graduation has come and gone. I feel like it was just yesterday that they handed me this little bundle in the hospital. Now she stands an inch taller than me, a whole lot smarter than me and don't even get me started on her athleticism. But the things about Sophie that make her special have nothing to do with those things that can be measured by grades or scores on the scoreboard. To explain what I mean, we have to take a little trip down memory lane.

Sophie has always been my wild child. Libby was born a wise old soul. Sophie was born to age me quickly. She wasn't even a year old when she was walking and throwing herself out of her crib so she could escape her room at nap time. As a toddler there was the time I found her at the top of the hay elevator where she had climbed when I stopped paying attention for an instant. Or the time in January where she was running outside in just a diaper because she was hot. I also told her once to stop putting stickers on the furniture to come and find her completely covered in stickers from head to toe.

We often joked that we should write a book of all the "Sophisms" that she was share, many many times a day. She was always watching us, always listening to us and always learning. Quickly. I remember her also as a tiny little girl, every time she would find a piece of metal or something in the horse pasture she would pick it up and say "this is an abcess waiting to happen". I don't know many 6 year olds that had the knowledge of vet care to be able to say that. She remembered everything. Every road that led to a friends' house or maybe even some place she had been once. She was like having your own personal GPS back when we were still printing out directions from Mapquest.

Part of what helped her learn so quickly is that I swear the child never slept. It was a struggle from birth to get her to sleep or nap and I think I spent the first 3 years of her life in a complete sleep deprived fog. But those powers of observation would serve her well. Whatever she watched, she learned. From the minute she started riding, she had perfect equitation. She also almost never missed a diagonal and could do patterns from the start. She learned quickly in school. So quickly that many of her early teachers told me that she was bored or finished the work quickly. That boredom often led her to find ways to entertain herself that landed her in trouble. As I said, she was my feral child and she was smart enough to know how to push buttons. Mine, her teachers', her sister's, you name it. But through it all, the words of one of her former principals echoed in the back of my mind. "Don't ever let anyone squash that drive and competitive spirit that she has. She will move mountains."

There were days I wanted those sassy moments to pass more quickly and then more and more days where I wanted every second to last no matter what she was doing. As Sophie aged, her sweet, loving and caring side became more and more the dominant part of her personality. She still had her wild child moments. Sophie will not argue with me that she inherited my temper. There were several years where I feared we would always be at odds. Of course my own dad took great delight in pointing out that the reason we fought each other so hard was because I was raising a daughter as strong willed and independent as I had been. Parents seem to take great joy in pointing that out.

But then there was a moment where all that changed. I couldn't pinpoint that date to save my soul. Somewhere along the line we went from pushing each other to the edge of crazy to holding each other together instead. The last year or two, I have turned to Sophie more times than I can count and I have put her back together equally as often. She has become one of my best friends, my co-conspirator (sssh - what Tim doesn't know doesn't hurt him) and my biggest fan. She cheers me on and makes me feel like I can do truly anything. I think she knows, I hope she knows, that I have always been her biggest fan. I'm the president, CEO, founder and chair of the Sophie Andring fan club. The truly wonderful thing is how many people are fighting to join my club. Others have realized what I have always known. Sophie is a truly great person.

I've never cried more and felt more like a failure or cried more (yes I cry just as much when I'm happy as I do when I'm sad) and felt like the best mom ever; than being part of Sophie growing up. Raising Sophie has been a challenge, but I like challenges. I'd say my work here is done, as she has flipped that tassel and graduated from high school. She's an official adult. However, I hope that she still needs her mom and I hope she knows that I am always going to be here for her. No matter how big she gets, how old she gets, no matter how far away she is or what road her life takes her down, a part of me will always see her as that sassy little one with the mischievous grin. She will always be my Sophie Sue.

Happy graduation, Sophie. It's not the end, it's just one more milestone in a lifetime of milestones. I know that you will move mountains kiddo. I'm just so lucky to get a front row seat as you show the world what I've know since you were just a baby. Love you, baby girl!