An Ode to Maja, on this, her Twelfth Birthday

Oh my goodness, how did my daughter Maja already reach her last birthday before her teens?

Even with a "Date Night" with my wife, she demanded Pappas Pizza and the comic book shop, two staples of when Mepcaon was in Scranton.

My wife has always joked that Maja was a great "starter baby," who didn't prepare us at all for the lovable playful chaos which is her younger sister, Millie.  For all our worries of a little girl who could keep to herself, she's blossomed into a social butterfly (when she wants to) with numerous interests that she doesn't always share with all of her friends.  

For God's  sake, she developed and interest in Manga, then anime.  And not the normal fantasy/sci-fi stuff that gamers gravitate towards.  It's the sports stuff!  She even tortured my wife with going to see Demon Slayer on their Mother-Daughter date night!

Sure, the pandemic has hastened her steps into moody teenager hood.  She's quite self-sufficient to stay in her room all day, only venturing out for food or the bathroom, but her grades are good, and no red flags pop up when we occasionally check up on things, so she's just a normal kid during COVID.  

On a positive, she's still into "American" comics.  (Reminder: I need to pull down my old comics for her read.  They might end up back in the box in better shape than when I gave them to her.)  Gaming-wise, she's hit that "edgy" zone, which can either go into rules lawyering, all Chaotic evil parties, or to be like her Dad, and if you lose, make their opponent pay for it.

I did teach her Chess this year, and between that and her odd love of musical theatre, I will ensure that she'll be considered the eclectic one.  Nothing wrong with that at all.

Of course, the one thing that offsets that is her athletic streak.  She's made her school's junior high team for this Summer, is looking into Volleyball, and in the most selfish proud Papa moment, she told me that she'd like to learn how to hurdle, and knows that Dad knows stuff about it.  I never asked for any extra support than what my parents gave me, and I was fine, but with our household, the sky's the limit for what she can accomplish, no matter what she wants to do.