Wednesday, May 26, 2010

...and with a double major, so there

She did it! Artist, photographer, author, anthropologist, traveler, sympathetic friend, recovering skier, forgiving daughter, all-around wicked cool woman, the only person in the world whose name is inked permanently on my arm...and now college graduate. Kristina bid adieu to UVM on Sunday. It was a ridiculously beautiful morning in Vermont, and a splendid time was had by all.

Two of my favorite essays I ever wrote for All Things Considered were about Kristina. It's not easy writing about family. In fact, it's not easy being in a family. I could never, ever capture complex, beautiful Kristina in a piece of writing. Impossible. But memories help put a picture together, even an imperfect picture. This one from 2004 is really just a reminder of how far we've all come. But this one from 2003 is hands-down my favorite thing I wrote for NPR. When I think of my "little Krissy" and how patient and amazing and curious and smart and funny she was (all those traits just strengthened since then), this is the memory I have.

And now back home. Nothing more telling that life is back to normal than this: I walked in the door last night to find a big bag of Poly-Fil on the kitchen table, this white fluffy synthetic stuff. I said, "What's up with this?" The answer: "Fiona decided today she needed to make voodoo dolls." Of course.