AG and Me |Countdown to Graduation

As I’m finishing up the last of 2020 senior pictures and orders and attending some grad parties (including my sweet niece’s), it is hitting me pretty hard that my youngest is now a senior!  I have done this senior thing a couple of times already, so these feelings shouldn’t be surprising…and yet they are.  Wasn’t she just in diapers? When did I stop picking out her outfits? When did she stop being the baby of the family?

And this may be a little lengthy for a blog post and not at all about photography, but I guess I just want to document what it was like for us in these strangest of days.  Well, maybe a little about photography…it is her senior year, so there are going to be LOTS of senior pics – starting now!  

The End of Junior Year

The end of junior year certainly was surprising.  As AimeeGrace watched her senior friends get ready for all the traditional end of year activities, everything suddenly changed.   We empathized with the class of 2020, when school, activities, competitions, proms and even graduations were cancelled due to the Corona Virus.

When prom wasn’t going to happen I begged for some prom dress photos. Honestly, I think she was a tad annoyed when I nagged her into spending some time with me at the studio.  But looking back, I am so glad we did.  It may be the only chance I get for photos in that dress – and I really really love it!  Shopping for it was so fun, and I was looking forward to her first prom and grand march and all the fun of preparing for it all.  Sigh. 

Losing Grandpa

Everybody has their Covid-19 stories and experiences and losses.  Ours included the loss of Grandpa and not being able to celebrate his life with a memorial service.  Grandpa was the backbone of our family and a beloved member of the Hazen community.  I think he attended just about every Hazen Highschool basketball, football and volleyball game over 30+ years!  And when his grand daughters showed no athletic abilities, he started showing up to speech meets, dance competitions, and band and choir concerts!  AimeeGrace loved him fiercely as the youngest grandkid from our side and they had a tight relationship. He taught her to drive, took her to speech meets, and nicknamed her LuLu.  She doted on him right back, and called him Grandpa LuLu. Losing him unexpectedly was devastating.  She spent hours and days with Grandpa in his hospital room, held his hand as his soul entered heaven and sobbed when he was gone.  

Getting Sick

When school went to distance learning, I didn’t worry too much about AimeeGrace.  She’s a good student and diligent about keeping up.  It would be a transition, but one we could manage.  I’m appreciatively lucky in that instance.  What we couldn’t plan for, was AG coming down with a severe case of mono, being hospitalized and then battling a long recovery as her liver healed.  I didn’t know the liver could be effected by mono, but that was the road she traveled!  Keeping up with school work suddenly became much more challenging.  She’s just about all better, except for a strange case of lingering hiccups!

Officially a Senior

I’m proud of how she persevered.  She did it in true AimeeG fashion…quietly and kindly.  That’s the kind of kid she is.  She didn’t complain (much) about the exhaustion, the pain, the weekly lab tests, the struggle with staying focused on school, or even about missing out on the end of school year activities.

Honestly, she’s been an easy teenager.  I know I have to start expecting (and accepting) her stretching more and more into independence. I had a glimpse of that while she was in Australia the first semester of Junior Year, but I also knew she was coming home. I know big changes are coming – maybe even senioritis. LOL.

I also know there will be lots of hugs, talks and senior pictures…..so stay tuned!