20 reasons why Grace rules

Baby Grace turns 20 today! I barely believe it. It seems like just yesterday Kelsey and I were tormenting her by playing “mean dogs” and not letting her come to sleepovers with us. But look at what that mild childhood trauma has done to her! She is the most accomplished 20-year-old I know. Here are 20 reasons why she rocks:

1. She loves people well.
2. She has the most infectious laugh of anyone I know; if she starts that rollicking laughter, you are compelled to start laughing, too, even if you have no idea what she’s laughing about.
3. She’s an incredible painter, and we have the absurd paintings to prove it.
4. She writes a kick-ass blog that’s way better than mine and with good reason.
5. She is a gifted photographer, well on her way to dominating UNC’s photojournalism school.
6. She is undeniably fearless. Girl went all over the world by herself! Got interrogated by Chinese government officials in Beijing! Hiked in the Himalayas! Rode an elephant! (See below.)
7. She was the youngest yoga instructor to graduate from a yoga school in Asheville.
8. She’s very funny. And she thinks I’m funny, which is a plus.
9. She’s super-cuddly. She will cuddle with just about anyone.
10. She is tenacious. Grace fights for what she believes and desires!
11. She can find the ugliest garments at Goodwill and transform them into an amazing outfit.
12. She loves dogs, even though she’s allergic to them.
13. She’s always been my buddy for watching black-and-white and/or foreign films.
14. She also can cultivate an appreciation for the patently terrible, including “The Vampire Diaries” and “Gossip Girl.”
15. She has a keen eye for visual detail and color relationships.
16. She is relentlessly stubborn, which may be her simultaneously great gift and great weakness.
17. She is wonderful with kids, whether they’re in small town Davidson or in an Indian orphanage.
18. She is a quietly accomplished reader. She’s read a good portion of the general literary canon, but she doesn’t often brag about that fact. I also think she has excellent taste in literature.
19. She is humble about her spiritual growth.
20. She loves her family–and, boy, do they love her!

Happy birthday, chicken! Love ya.