Happy 13th Birthday Matilda!

Dear Matilda,

Today you turn 13 years old. I can’t believe I have two teenagers living in our house! Here are some things you might like to know about yourself when you turned 13 and some things I’d like to remember about you.

You are super smart. You are in accelerated classes and think deeply about so many things. You amaze me with your intellect.
This last year you ran cross country and track for the first time and loved it. You’ll be doing that again this next year in 8th grade.
You play percussion in the advanced band at your school. Next year you would like to try out for jazz band so we just purchased you a full drum set so you could start playing jazz on those. You also participate in Girls on the Drum this year which was a really cool female drum line and performed in a concert at our local theatre.
You are still in Girl Scouts and you love it! This summer you are a PA for two different Girl Scout camps and you love working with all the kids.
You are no longer taking piano lessons. We told you that you had to make a choice right now between percussion and piano and right now your focus is on percussion.
For your birthday celebration you invited three friends (Addy, Leah and Sara) to go to downtown Chicago and visit the WNDR Museum and go out to lunch. We took the train and I really enjoyed seeing you with your friends. It’s fun to see what people you pick to be your friends……they are all creative, funny and kind people. We also had a pre-birthday celebration in Texas with Grandma Jane and Pepo.
You got a new I-phone for your birthday and a phone number. You didn’t ask for it. You would never ask for something you think is over the top or not necessary. You’ve been using a hand-me-down phone from Grandma Jane and just using it connected to wi-fi. You were totally fine with that phone, but it was time for something new for you and for you to be able to text us when you need to be picked up from your activities.
You never want to replace things unless they are absolutely falling apart. Right now you have two tiny holes in your tennis shoes, but you don’t want new ones because you say they are just fine.
You are starting to show interest in fashion. You’ve tried on a bunch of clothes of your olders sister’s when she’s not been home, but still have yet to say you want any of those style of clothes.
You sang with the school jazz band this year. The band director, Mr. Crylen, had seen you sing in years past at the school talent show so he asked you to sing Cry Me a River with the jazz band at the last concert of the year and at the high school jazz band concert. No one has ever sang with them before. You were AMAZING!! Everyone was shocked that such a mature voice could come out of such a quiet girl like you. You were so brave to get up there in front of that big audience. I was very proud of you!
You still want to be an aerospace engineer. You would like to go to MIT for college.
For Christmas this last year, you asked for a bank account. You are a big saver and save most of the money you receive. Your big sister is jealous that she doesn’t have a bank account and you do.
Your favorite foods are cheeseburgers, chicken strips / nuggets, french fries, orange chicken and pizza. You still don’t like vegetables.
You have a boyfriend. His name is Cody. He is very nice and smart and you have a very sweet relationship. You’ve known each other for many years and have been boyfriend and girlfriend since he asked you during cross country last fall (2021).
One of your favorite classes that you took in school this year was architectural drafting.
You still struggle with anxiety, but have made some MAJOR improvements this year. So many people have been telling me, what a difference they’ve seen in you.
You were in the school play this year and played a sophisticated lady. You had quite a few lines. The show was called The Whatsit.
You still share a room with your big sister, Savannah. You are neat and she is messy, so needless to say, you do not like having to share a room with her. I don’t blame you.
This last year, you would go over to Gigi and Grumpy’s house one day a week after school and build rockets with Grumpy. You love spending one on one time with Grumpy and launching your rockets.
You participated in the scholastic bowl competition at school this year and hope to continue next year.

Matilda Jane, we love you so much! I love how you have passion for so many different things. You are creative, funny, smart, organized and so loving! Time is absolutely flying by and I cannot believe you are now a teenager. I love watching you grow into such an amazing young lady. You make me so proud!!