It's strange to have my oldest be twelve, that great dividing line (at least in Mormon culture) between a child and a young woman. Over the past year I've seen that transition happening, which has been a little surprising. I know logically that eventually all my children will become adults, but it's very strange to see that transition begin for the first time. I'm sure that this will all be very natural when William turns twelve, but it's a bit of an adjustment to have a daughter who is four inches shorter and half a shoe size smaller than me. I'm sure it will be even more fun when she is taller than me, which is an inevitability.
It has been really great to see her mature and grow into her new role as a young woman. A year ago, she would run off to hide if she knew we were going to clean up the kitchen after dinner. Now she stays around and asks for more work when her assigned tasks are done - not because she likes cleaning up, but because she knows it is the right thing to do. She has become a very responsible babysitter and has started teaching Joseph his history and science lessons - and is actually enjoying it (something I have yet to achieve). I've enjoyed beginning to see her as a helper in raising the children instead of a child to be raised.
We celebrated her birthday yesterday. We started the day with Kathleen's choice for breakfast - cinnamon rolls. After a few chores, including baking a chocolate birthday cake, we swam (yes, the pool is still maintaining its charm).
After a few enjoyable hours of swimming, we went out to dinner. Kathleen chose Chinese, so I asked around for recommendations and found a very, very hole in the wall restaurant. It was down an alleyway and very much maintained its converted garage aesthetic (I think it's actually the most sketchy restaurant I've ever eaten at), but quite delicious. We found amazingly good Chinese food in Dushanbe because there were quite a lot of Chinese in Dushanbe. I didn't figure I'd find food like that again, but was happy to find food just as good in this scary-looking restaurant (the picture is deceiving).
Kathleen wanted to go to a local amusement park (think permanent county fair), so we tried out Tashkent's newest park, Ashgabat. I had forgotten that Tashkent is a much larger city than Dushanbe (about four times the population) with a more prosperous population, which would naturally translate to more crowded places.
We only made it on about four or five rides and it was time to go home before everyone turned into pumpkins and William broke down from staying up too late.
Our car was finally registered on Friday, but when it was time to start it, there was a problem with the electrical system and we did not get to take it home. So we had to depend on taxis. Luckily seat belts and capacities are the usual mere suggestion that they are in this part of the world and we were able to squeeze all eight of us into sedans. Our last car, however, was not really a full-sized sedan and the driver would only allow Brandon in the front seat. So other seven of us got to squeeze in the back for the fifteen minute ride home. Luckily the car did not crash and we made it home safely.
We finished the evening (very late) with cake and presents. Kathleen was very happy with her two presents - a doll house made by Sophia and a Ken doll from her grandmother. The mail didn't come this week so Kathleen is getting a late present from us.
It was a very good day, and Kathleen was quite happy to finally be twelve. Happy Birthday, Kathleen!
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