one for you, meggie moo

my 20 year old daughter meg just bought herself her first car. armed with the ten-year-old neon i bought her a couple years ago, her sister's shrewd negotiating skills and six grand she saved herself, meg drove off the lot in a brand new 2008 subaru, her monthly payment the lowest the dealer ever secured.

Beloved, hearing of it all, offered on the spot to pay her first payment.

she also has a 3.75 average at uconn - where she's a sophmore - and holds down a part-time job as asst swim coach for the jewish community center. in her spare time, she paints, reads and shops. she eschews drinking, smoking, illicit substances and casual sex. how'd she get this way?

she suffered. life wasn't easy for meg. her father scapegoated her at every opportunity, she got held back in second grade. she watched me struggle, fail and try some more. somewhere along the way she learned that determination pays off, that gratification deferred is worth the wait. somehow she believes - most of the time, anyway - that it's more important to be meg than to conform to anyone else's ideal. somehow she understands its better to be alone in a room than lonely in a crowd.

i don't know the precise magic brew that produced the miracle named meg, but i do know that at times it was very very bitter.

i am very very proud of meg. more than that, i know she's proud of herself.

well done, meggie moo.

and furthermore, the war must end. blessed be.