Indie is 10

Ten & Indie is so big that it feels too little to call her big.  She is now on the other side of the magical world of Santa, the Easter Bunny and even leaves notes to remind the Tooth Fairy to pay up on our mirror at night (she knows us well).  Since learning Cabin Fairies are entirely funded by the adults she has taken a new interest and support in helping the little kids build fairy houses and anticipate the magical gifts that appear.

Indie loves a good chat.  She loves to tell you everything and anything that is going on in her brain, she loves to share her plans or just what happened 5 minuets ago.  It is not uncommon for her to call  multiple times when I'm out of the house just to shoot the breeze. Often she wants to be where the adults are, listening and soaking everything in.

She loves to be silly and to hear funny stories over and over, reveling in the highlights.  She loves to tease and test out an ironic sense of humor. She is responsible, and it's pretty unusual for her to have anything but a happy heart when helping out with kids or cleaning up. 

Indie loves music and has pockets of interest in dance. She did voice, piano, rock climbing, gymnastics, dance and little bit of track this year. She likes to feel fast and strong. 

Indie loves to read, especially graphic novels, she stays up late every night with a book and I'm no longer surprised at how little sleep it appears she needs in order to be happy and healthy.  She got her own library card this year, maxes out her holds and reads voraciously (always there is a book keeping her company in the car). 

She continues to work on writing movie scripts and planning out films with friends and family.  The biggest sadness in her life is that her buddy moved away to another state and that we don't have unlimited amazon music. She has a Thursday shirt that she wears every Thursday and a newly acquired Wednesday shirt too. She has an obsession with wearing her hair in ponies and we playfully butt heads over trying out new styles (sometimes not so playfully).

Indie reminds me so much of Damon with her interest and attention to details.  Though she is undoubtedly her own person. She is honestly such a wonderful human and we are so lucky to have her in our lives.  She loves to discuss deep nuanced issues and learn.  She is incredibly cerebral and a leader. 

She has hated the new routine of washing her face, deodorant, and showers. That was not something I really expected from my routine and rule loving kiddo, but she's getting the hang of it.  Change is hard. 

For her birthday Indie asked for an ancestry DNA test kit, to know her blood type, and a treadmill (not all of which she got, but still, fun to see what's on her mind). We woke up in a Tipi on her Birthday and spent the day near Canada's boarder, hiking to a natural rock slide and spending hours upon hours in the car. Indie opened a time capsule letter she had written to herself a year earlier and laughed and nodded in agreement to the message she had left herself. So cute.

Every year it just gets better, Indie girl. As always you are so much more expansive than anything I could nail down on paper. I get nervous writing down my observations now that you're a little older because I do not want you to believe that you have to  continue reading or loving music or being sad about showers in order to be you. Or even to agree with the things I see. You only have to listen to that soft tender knowing inside yourself and keep living life.  We love you and love that we get to know you again and again and again as you learn and grow. 

These are the things you wanted to remember about your 10 year old self: 

There are too many favorite movies, shows, songs and books to keep track but I love "Spirit Animals" and the show "Wednesday", and music by Allen walker and The Fat Rat. My favorite colors are blue and purple, I love playing a game I made up on the trampoline with Stella and Finn called the video game.  When I grow up I want to be a traveler with two adopted children. 

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