Following the footsteps...

Today my cousin's daughter (KC) turns 18. In a few months she will go off to a prestigious liberal arts college - where Liberal is taken quite literally - to study some combination of art and science.  Where will it take her? Far, I'm sure.

I've probably mentioned this before, but I have some unbelievably talented people in my family. KC's parents probably top of the list (well, in a tie with my brother). Her dad designed the glass piece shown above for Steuben Glass (hope it's OK that I'm showing it here, Robbief?!?!). They are all among the smartest AND most creative people I know. In my Mom's generation talent and brains abounded - it has trickled down in mixed forms. All of "the grandchildren" (i.e. my generation) are pretty bright, but some lives turned out more complicated than others - mine included. I guess that is true in all families. KC is part of the next generation. From what I know, members of this generation do pretty well on the breadth of interest and IQ scale (one of my cousin's kids lists her interests on Facebook as "Transcendental Numbers, Caffeination, Synesthesia, Futurism, Algorithms, Raving, Portal, Valve, Havok Physics, Hyperbolic Folding and Industrial Espionage". I don't even know what half this stuff is!) Everyone of this 4th Gen after Poppy and Nonny seem to have (so far) avoided the "recessive genes". Maybe it's that we all shaken up the gene-pool just enough. That gives me hope for my kids too!

KC's 18th birthday reminds me that my kids are really not that far behind! In a blink of an eye, they will also be in working on the yearbook, picking colleges and trying on graduation robes.

I'm not going to rush them out the door. It's always good to have this reminder that childhood goes so fast, and I should savor this time, even when I'm in the midst of daily car pools, endless nagging about picking up clothes thrown on the floor and constantly running late.

Congrats KC on your day! You're a wonderful role model for my kids - even if they only see you once a year for a few hours - and for how their Mom can guide them. I can't say I've always followed in KC's parents' parenting footsteps (one big difference is TV, your family didn't have one for many years, while my kids have TVs in their rooms), but I've certainly been taking notes on what they did right!

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