The trajectory of my daughter’s development has always been interesting. When she was in her first year or so, the experts had those milestones that babies should reach. I found them an okay reference but never fretted about them.
She was “cruising” -walking by holding onto furniture, like a sofa or coffee table, by seven months, typically at eight to twelve months. The term, BTW, is one I had never heard until her pediatrician used it.
She started walking when she was about 15 months, when “the book,” said it should be around 12 months. But we weren’t really sweating it.
I was more likely to worry about later issues, which I probably mentioned at the time. I specifically recall her learning to write by sounding out the letters in kindergarten, but she was very distressed that the words were not spelled correctly.
COVID was hard for all of us in the household, especially her. Her lost socialization was particularly difficult to rectify.
So it pleases me that, being home for the summer after her first year in college, she’s getting herself up instead of her father having to awaken her. She’s mastered taking the buses to work and home. Her experiences with co-workers, managers, and customers have been an education she shares most evenings.
BLM
It’s also interesting to see her through other people’s eyes. A medical professional I saw for the first time this month told me they saw my daughter at the Black Lives Matter rallies she helped organize after George Floyd died in 2020. They identified the nearby corner where the rallies occurred and were pleased that such passionate young people took up the future.
I’ll miss her more when she returns to college than when she went there in her first year. She is very engaging, smart, funny, and personable. When I tell her I love her, she’s willing to mutter that she loves me too.