Twelve

Tomorrow is Zoe’s twelfth birthday. TWELVE. Twelve is one of those weird ages. It’s the in-between…part teenager, part child. Zoe is definitely a little of both, not equally in either camp, which is just fine with me. This has been a good year for all of us, and Zoe has really begun to show who she is going to be when she’s older. She is kind, and thoughtful, and respectful and accepting of every human she spends time with. More people could stand to have the same qualities, and I could not be more proud of her if I tried.

Zoe has chosen friends who are, for lack of a better term, the misfits. She is much like her mama in this regard, and I love that she doesn’t care one bit what people think of her social choices. This year was a little sad at school when a friend that she’s known since preschool moved to another school. I don’t think even I knew how much it upset her until recently I saw an email between the two girls. “I miss you SOOOO much!” “You’ll always be my best friend even if we don’t see each other every day!” Zoe has a lovely sense of loyalty to her people, which is a wonderful way to be.

Zoe still loves to cook and often helps in the kitchen at home, but this year has been the year of anime and cosplay. She has read all of the anime comics she can get her hands on, and she’s OBSESSED with My Hero Academia. Sometimes we have conversations about this show and about halfway through, I realize I have absolutely ZERO clue what we’ve been talking about. For her birthday this year, Zoe is going to the Planet Comic Con with her dad and Lucy. She’s invited a friend who has never attended such a spectacle, and she’s spent lots of time talking with her friend about what to expect so she’s not overwhelmed. What a sweet friend Zoe is.

The part of Zoe that is still a child loves to snuggle and when I say I love her, she always says, “I love you more” and then my response is always “I know!” which cracks both of us up. The almost-teenager part of Zoe stays in her room a lot. She slams doors when she’s frustrated. She tells me that I don’t understand her. I see a lot of myself in her, for sure. But she’s also full of her own weird and wonderful personality, and a stubbornness that will one day serve her well.  Maybe it already does. This much I know: Zoe knows who she is and what she likes. She is unapologetic about it, and I am so excited to see what her twelfth year brings to her.