More Beach Kids

 Golda.  Can I tell you how much she is missed around our house?  The other day, I had no motivation.  I was annoyed that the kids had been derailed from their tasks by a sudden church meeting, and wondering how I could motivate them to finish their homework and practicing until way into the night, after having lost 3 hours to this meeting on a school night.  I suddenly realized that Golda had been the driving force in our household, not Scott or me.  She wouldn't have even flinched at getting her job done at the church meeting and then carrying on with her responsibilities at home.  Everyone was affected by Golda's work ethic, and now we don't have her.  I never realized just how reliant we all were on not only Golda's example of determination, but her spiritual strength, too.  We are so lucky she was our first child.  The tone she set for our family gives me a lot to live up to.

 On one of Araceli's school assignments, she wrote that the worst day of her life was when Golda moved to college.  That's so sad!  It's true, Araceli had come to rely on Golda even more than the rest of us, as an example of everything she wants to be.  They're like twins.  It's a good thing Araceli has excellent examples in her older sisters, because she is a thrill seeker.  An experimenter.  A fearless leader.  She had admitted that her fearlessness has gotten her into trouble, but it has also been an adventure for everyone.  She said to me, "I've always been a teenager."  I protested.  She wasn't a teenager when she was a tiny, china-doll baby.  Or a darling, pixie-haired toddler.  Or when she was a pre-pubescent brace face.  And she's not even a teenager now, in some ways, with her adult looks and wise maturity.  In some ways, she is, though.  She lacks impulse control, and she's always overly emotional.  Every night, I can expect to get a text, long after bedtime, about a new phantom injury.  "Mom, my wrist hurst SOOOO bad!"  "My ribs are still bruised."  With a link to a website about bruised ribs.  Miraculously, all these ailments seem to vanish on their own.  In the meantime, Araceli keeps life on the razor's edge thrilling for all of us.  Keep following Golda, Celi.  She has your back.

 Scott and I had no idea what we were getting into with this group.  I'm astounded that we stayed dazed and naive long enough to get seven kids here before waking up and realizing what we'd done.  I just hope we have the stamina to get all 7 launched into adulthood.  Now that I know the effort it takes, I seriously doubt our capabilities.  Ignorance really is bliss.  And so is family.  These people truly are my bliss.