I don't believe that wishing while pregnant for what your child will be like actually forms any part of their personality or appearance, but damned if Hitter isn't exactly what I hoped she's be.
The last time Hitter did something make-up-y
She's sarcastic and honest, has a style all her own and doesn't give a damn if it doesn't follow trends or match what her friends are wearing. She couldn't care less about brand names or if what she likes is popular. She has a boy's hair cut and wears her shirts sloppily enough that she gets referred to by strangers as a boy. She can jump straight up 36 inches from a flat footed start (the athletic director calls her a freak of nature, which makes her laugh). She can do 50 Marine Corps style push ups without pause. She's got a 4.0 GPA, tied for valedictorian, which she doesn't want, because she'll have to give a speech, but she doesn't want to mess up her GPA for college entrance. She only wears make-up at Halloween. She wore black leather work boots with her prom dress.
All the flats were too girly
Hitter has a best friend (Bunny) who calls me mom. She is the only person on this earth who Hitter lets hug her with abandon. They use each other as pillows, sit in the same chair, stay up all night watching Walking Dead, hit each other, insult each other, and damn the person who tries to come between them. Hitter had a crush on a boy last summer... we've camped with his family for years and years, and for the first time she didn't hide in her tent reading all week. She hung out with Scout. She FLIRTED. Bunny started texting with Scout since Hitter was talking about him non-stop. For a couple of months it was the three of them, constantly on the phone, on face book, etc. Then Hitter stopped. 'They like each other' she told me, 'and I'd rather be friends with both of them than only have one.'
Hitter is an Leftside Outside Hitter (hence the name) for her high school volleyball team. This will be her second year on varsity. She catches an amazing amount of air... she's 5'4", and can get her elbow above the top of a regulation height net. She's got a line drive serve that Aces about half the time. Her coach is working with her to combine the two into a jump serve. She still has another year of high school ball after this, I have no doubt she'll get it down.
Getting some air
Volleyball is her sport, there might as well be no other. She picked her college (a high ranked small private college) in part because they have a dedicated volleyball team, but aren't a big enough school to make the paper in any meaningful way.
Am I bragging? Damned straight. I could go on forever about this girl of mine. She's played an instrument for 7 years. She is part of the only club at her tiny high school that discusses issues of discrimination, and I got phone calls after she made an impromptu speech on love, and how it can't be stopped just because some people say it's wrong. She has a massive attitude. She hates attention directed at her and will flat ignore teachers if she doesn't feel like responding. She detests being touched without initiating (and she never initiates). She'd rather read than do anything else. She likes rock and alternative, hates country and pop.
She leaves for college in just two tiny, short, will go by like nothing years, and she is so independent and self sufficient I'm afraid she will never call me and I will lose one of the most amazing people I know.
Happy Birthday my beautiful independent child. You are everything I could have ever wanted. I love you.
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