Today is my little girl’s birthday. Ella is seven.
It is hard to believe really. When she and her brother Silas were still babies, people would remind us that “they grow up quickly” so we should “enjoy them while they are young!” It’s true! It is incredible to watch these little people develop.
Ella is a deep source of inspiration for me. Back in September we gave her a challenge that she accepted and embraced. She left her friends at Brentwood Elementary and went back to ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱ School in the SENĆOŦEN immersion program for grade one. Just a couple of days ago, she came home with a little handmade book to show us how she can read in the ancient language of her ancestors.
Birthdays are important for Ella. Not just her birthday, but everybody’s birthday. She anticipates the special day with a growing excitement. When the day arrives, she honours the person in whatever way a little child can.
Ella has been preparing for her seventh birthday for a couple of months now. Moments after she wakes up and just as we are tucking her in at night she asks how many days are left. Well known for her artistic projects, a couple of months out she took over the kitchen table and began drawing up two calendars to create a visual reminder of the passage of time until her day, striking off a box for every day that passed.
Getting bigger!
Last weekend Ella was standing at the island in our kitchen reached over to the tap to get herself a glass of water and she said out loud, “Hey I can reach the tap now!” It inspired a quick tweet to Raffi.
Hey @Raffi_RC Ella just literally realized she “can reach the tap now for the very first time today!”
— Adam Olsen (@AdamPOlsen) May 12, 2019
Then last week, with just a few short days to go, I was attending the Pact for a Green New Deal event in Victoria and I get a text from Emily.
“The kids are still up and Ella needs to talk to you.”
It turns out that the anticipation of turning seven had caught up to her. She is getting older. A sadness crept over her. She began to realize and accept it and it was the source of a little family tear-fest. Our kids are getting older now and they are facing it.
I’m incredibly lucky to have such a great kid who moves so many people. Ella is a powerful reminder to all of us to embrace life and to always be excited and hopeful about the days to come.
Happy Birthday to Ella!
Birthing day honors for her parents!
-dance around the sun-