Happy Birthday, Bossy!

I couldn’t possibly begin this post without showing you the loot we picked up around our neighborhood for Halloween yesterday. My sweetie thought he was a pretty hilarious clown, but mostly it was for Bossy’s benefit. She has an unfounded fear of clowns in any form because of some movie she watched on a band trip a dozen years ago. And since this post is really about her, I thought I would stick that one in.

That pile of candy is our collective efforts. Perhaps you will think I’m mean when I say that we allow all of our kids to take their full-size candy bars and anything special like play-doh or pencils or crackers. Then we pour everything together and this year I let them pick 15 of their favorites to consume as they choose. I will probably give them ten more pieces tomorrow, but then I will put the rest away for family treats and special occasions. It usually lasts almost until Valentine's Day.

But today is a special day! It is Bossy’s 27th birthday. I have written several posts about Bossy and her accomplishments and personality. Here’s a couple of links in case you missed them. This one tells about how she graduated from college. I was thinking I had already told you her birth story, but I guess not, so I will put it up tomorrow since this is getting long. She is an amazing person! She works hard and she plays even harder. She is always willing to support my brilliant beyond brilliant plans and she was right with me when we started this blog although now that she has a real job she has turned over most of the assistance to Teach. (I don’t know what I’ll do when Teach gets a real job…).

Bossy called her own shots from Day 1. She was due on Thanksgiving, but tried to make her appearance on Halloween instead. We were such babies ourselves, I don't think we had a clue what we were doing. Technically, I was a teenage mom since I didn't turn 20 until she was 2 months old. But somehow we figured it out and she not only survived, but thrived! As the oldest of 12, she has always held a leadership position in our family. You've heard of the "oldest child syndrome"? Enough said.

Bossy will celebrate her 10-year reunion next summer. High school was an exciting time for her. She participated on the Academic Decathlon team and they won the state competition and competed at Nationals. She was firmly declared a "band geek" and she was on the band council as the uniform's director. She loved playing in the band. Her instrument of choice was any type of saxophone and she earned scholarships to Snow College that paid for her housing and books since her tuition was already covered by an academic scholarship.

She earned her Girl Scout Gold Award and the Life Saving Award. She was a finalist for Sterling Scholar and she participated in track and field in their throwing events. But mostly it was about band. While she was at Snow she played in all of their top bands and graduated after just one year. Then she was offered a scholarship at the University of Utah to play in their band, but she turned it down after Gamer made her a better offer...

I’m so proud of the person Bossy has become. Yesterday I went with her and our little entourage (her two boys and my youngest three) to the Halloween party at her work. She is obviously respected and liked by her peers even though she has only been at this job for a few months. It’s difficult to get on with DCFS even with an MA degree, but she managed it with a BA and no experience. I’m sure they could see in her all the good that I see.

Happy Birthday, Bossy! When you were little, I used to whisper in your ear that I couldn’t imagine what you would be like when you grew up…and look at you now, all grown up and you turned out just fine! Love you. Have a happy day!