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Summer of Sixteen

My oldest child is now officially a junior in high school.  Her young life is full of firsts.  This month she is taking her driver’s license test.  She has been studying hard and practicing several times a week.  I hope she passes it the first time, but how many of us can say that we did.  Also she is working more this summer.  With her earnings she is hoping to save up enough for a car and a good camera so that she can continue to follow her artistic dreams in photography and film. 
Being sixteen is full of changes.  I am excited and nervous for her all at once.  Rather than wanting to hold her back I am cheering her on with a mixture of motherly advice and trust in her own blossoming wisdom.  I do take comfort in the fact that both she and her best friend are inherently very good young ladies.  It is nice not to have to worry about a long list of things neither of them would do.  Equally as nice is the knowledge that when they are out they have each other’s backs.  The buddy system at any age is a good thing.
Thinking about her summer vacation takes me back to the summer before my junior year of high school.  I will not bother mentioning how long ago that was but George Bush Sr. was president, Cheers was still on TV and the number of computers hooked up to the internet reached a whopping one million.  My home was not one in that million.
How things have changed.   Yet look at how many things remain timeless.  She has already gone shopping for a new swim suite, flip flops and cute shorts.  Has sun kissed cheeks from hanging out with her family and friends at the local lakes.  Both she and her best friend have spent April and May applying for the perfect summer jobs.
There will be bonfires, smores and cook outs.   Nearly three months of sleepovers, no homework and endless days to sleep in.  What may I ask could be any better?
This, my young friends is your second to last completely free summer before you are thrust into the light of full blown adulthood.  Enjoy yourselves.  Sip your lemonade slowly, row a boat across a calm lake, and camp out under the stars.  We would all trade places with you in a heartbeat if given the chance.  How lucky you are. 
JL Cooper

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