Even if she weren’t my granddaughter, I would probably take note of this little person. She is definitely unique. She is only seven years old, and what a character she is!
She loves to cruise in the car with the sunroof open while listening to the music on Pandora. Her favorite singers are Taylor Swift and Pat Benatar and she really, really wants to have hair like Cyndi Lauper–cut-and-colors, of course. And why not? She’s worn a pixie haircut with a colored stripe for more than a year.
She’s hilarious. When her mom answered her question, “What’s the name of this (Rolling Stones’) song?” with “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” she replied, “I know! But what’s the name of this song???”
Unlike most people, Maeby knows who she is. At day camp this past summer she was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up and she answered, “I’m already an artist,” and indeed she is. She was greatly inspired by another artists at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia, and now she creates embossed greeting cards that are displayed and sold at a downtown art gallery. Every month she takes the commission check she earns to the bank; she’s saving to buy a bike. Of course, the people at the bank love her to pieces.
And now she can already claim being an award-winning photographer..her entry was selected as the the Youth division winner of the local USO’s photography contest and an enlarged canvas print of it will hang in the lobby of the newly built Fort Campbell USO Transition Center. Early one morning, she noticed the beauty of the sunrise reflecting off the clouds and grabbed her mom’s phone to capture the moment. For that she got kudos from the USO rep, who encouraged her to always take the time to capture those moments and to not delay because that particular moment will be gone forever. Good advice for many things, I thought.
Maeby’s an Army brat who has already moved three times in her short life, and it seems that her artwork gives her the ability to not only express herself, but to be independent, not having to rely on others for entertainment. How amazing is that? Probably as amazing as watching her grow up will be.
