Happy 15th Birthday, Hadley!

Dear Prinny-Princess,

Just as your nicknames frequently change, so do you! You’re wrapping up your freshman (9th grade) year and though you’re still figuring out your path, high school proved to be exponentially better than middle school and have pulled off mostly A and A- for grades! Unfortunately, you got cut from the volleyball team but fortunately, you took two art classes–painting and pottery–and reminded yourself that art is your passion and talent. You spend hours in your room painting and people have taken notice: you’ve had some friends ask you to paint their laptop covers, which I think could turn into a business opportunity. You also love photography, much to your brother’s chagrin, who takes every chance he can to avoid “the paparazzi.”

Oh, and let us not forget about your “My Little Pony Addiction” and the hundreds of hours you spent in Equestria this year. It could be worse, right?

I introduced you to yoga when you were around 7 which you described as “the worst pain ever” so I was surprised that you wanted to take a yoga class at the high school and even more shocking: you enjoyed it! You went from the least flexible person in the world (barely able to touch your knees) to a passably flexible person and can almost touch your ankles. However, your yoga enjoyment only goes so far. You went on a class field trip to a hot yoga studio at Thanksgiving Point, which you described as “the worst experience of my life.” No judgment here about your hatred for hot yoga; I won’t even do “cold” yoga.

You have had some fun trips this year. Canada for Christmas, Grandma’s funeral and last summer at the lakehouse in B.C. and Calgary. The Johnson family reunion at Henry’s Fork Landing near Yellowstone. Our beloved Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs. Youth Conference at Bryce Canyon National Park. Especially for Youth (EFY) in Provo. Trek in the middle-of-nowhere Wyoming. YW Girl’s Camp at Bear Lake. Vail and Beaver Creek Resorts for Spring Break where you skied #28 of Colorado’s 33 resorts.

A broken shoulder (Aqua X Zone), a busted back (skiing) and last summer was The Sailing Disaster, which has prompted me to officially pass my Murphy’s Law torch to you. Your tiller broke at sailing lessons at Jordanelle, your sailboat capsized and while you and your partner clung to the side of the boat, the wind whipped them to shore, almost running over a [terrified] elderly woman in a kayak. You somehow emerged unscathed but the bright side is you were a celebrity when I checked you into sailing lessons the next day. Takeaway: Being a Murphy is nothing if not notorious.[/caption]

You’re still suffering PTSD from last year’s ski accident so you skied down Beaver Creek by yourself early for your first-ever massage at the Westin’s spa. That night after we went hot-tubbing as a family, you headed to the gym by yourself and just as I was starting to get impressed that you are becoming independent and oh-so capable, you never came back so Dad eventually went to find you. And there you were trying to jimmy the door open because you were locked INSIDE the gym after the attendant left…with a creepy old Asian guy who had lined up about 10 bottles of weird tea around his workout area. It’s like trying to parent myself.

You have been begging us to get braces and we will just as soon as we pay off my knee surgery and all of your medical accident debt (it never ends). You’re hankering to get a job and make your own money but pickins are slim out in these parts and 16 is the golden age. We need to make a plan for summer because it’s wiiiiiiide open. You have had a tough time since we moved to Utah and that’s hard to witness as a mom because I felt–and still feel–we made this move for you. You have had a lot of setbacks and you often feel so defeated you just want to sleep. But sometimes we get glimpses of your former self and it’s reconfirmed to me that this journey, as hard as it is, is the path you are supposed to go through.

Broadmoor Santa

During our recent trip to Colorado for Spring Break, we saw the return of Adventure Girl (AG). I have wanted to hike popular Hanging Lake for years and their recent announcement requiring a $shuttle$ starting in May spurred us to action. The steep pitch didn’t deter us, nor did traversing the long, icy stretches but when we came across an avalanche 3/4 of the way up that completely blocked the path, you climbed over it and wouldn’t leave until you relocated what was left of the icy “trail.”

The three sane ones in the family turned around, an argument ensued that we were ruining your life and it was only when we heard The Voice of God in the form of a WHUMPF (the sound of the collapsing snowpack as a boulder was launched from the cliffs above) that we convinced you to high-tail it outta there. Takeaways: You may the most stubborn person on the planet, even at the detriment of your own safety but my gosh, you’re determined.

You recently had a Young Women retreat at the Kuch’s cabin and I was asked to write a little something about you:

Hadley is artistic, hilarious, free-spirited and when she sets her mind to something, she is unstoppable. Don’t ask her to turn around on a mountain because you’ll never hear the end of it. You were born to Summit.

And don’t you ever forget it.

Love,

Mommy

P.S. For a stroll down memory lane, read letters for your 14th birthday, 13th, 12th, 11th, 10th, 9th, 8th, 7th, 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd and your birth story.