Kyler and Jeanette: Calista Year Ten Retrospective

23 August 2021

Calista Year Ten Retrospective

Calista is ten, which means it's time to look back on the last year.

Favorite color: cerulean.

Favorite food: maybe the thai curry soup. It's so good!

Favorite movie: How To Train Your Dragon

Best part of being 9: I am taking more responsibility, like going to the park with both my brothers alone.

Advice you'd give to your nine-year-old self: Never give up!

Wisdom you've gained this last year: to not take anything for granted, really. Covid taught me that.

Looking forward to for 10: getting another digit! Double digits!

What would you change about the world? Covid. It's coming to an end, but I just want it to end now.

Most of the time, Calista is the best big sister her brothers could ask for.

She plays with them,

reads to them,

comforts them when they're sad...

Her spirit is nurturing and I love how they interact.

Unless she's mad and yelling at them. You win some, you lose some. But we mostly win.

Yet again, we've had an interesting year for school. Covid has meant being tested,

Doing at home learning...

...more than once,

and wearing a mask every day to school, and many other places. But Calista has taken it all in stride, doing her best to follow the rules and learn all she can. What a resilient girl she has been.

I don't usually mention specific holidays in these posts, since I've covered them before, but I figured it was worth mentioning this time...

Calista finished the list she made when she was four years old:

Princess in Black, Aurora, orca, dinosaur, Anna, and finally Elsa. Never doubt a Calista who puts her mind to something. And this next year? We'll see. I've heard a few ideas, but she hasn't committed yet. When she does, I'll believe her, 100%.

In spite of Covid restrictions, Calista has continued to work on her piano.

Her lessons have been both in person and over Zoom, which was interesting.

Sometimes we struggle to get her to practice, especially the things her teacher actually asks her to work on.

But when she does, the results are lovely. Hopefully this year she can have some (Covid-free) consistency and work towards some RCM exams.

One of Calista's favorite things to do is read. She finished the Harry Potter series this year,

Read the entire Series of Unfortunate Events,

And started the Percy Jackson series. If I can't find her, she's often escaped to her room to read.

Although she'll read with us sometimes, as well.

A little chef in the making,

Calista has been enjoying trying new recipes and learning to cook.

Which is good, because now that she's 10, she is in charge of one meal a week (with me as her sous chef).

She's learned that sometimes, cooking is dangerous...

But usually tasty!

We did a couple of different mountain getaways this year, to Banff and to Waterton.

Calista loved being allowed the camera to take pictures,

and was usually pretty good at helping out when we needed, even in the heat.

And, well, if there were a few moments she wanted to sit in the shade instead of help,

who can blame her too much?

Calista is becoming a fantastic buddy to have around. She's old enough that she can sit still and pay attention to a movie, but young enough to still have child-like wonder.