Lydia, Elisa, and I are playing nerf basketball in my apartment. Lydia has made two long distance shots so far, the same as me. She has a grace about her when she moves and a joy when the ball goes into the hoop. Then she announces she is done playing. I negotiate for her to play until the next basket is scored and she says "ok".

This is Lydia. One moment a gift. The next moment her feet dug in, protecting. One might say she is like her father. Her father would.

10 year old in many ways is a golden age for a parent and a child. The child is old enough to do things for long periods of time such as playing iPad mini (her birthday gift). She is also young enough not to be driven by hormone soup. I find Lydia precious. Able to be the big loving sister without ever showing she cares for Elisa. Able to tease Aidan while still being the younger sister. Able to be the obedient daughter and still get her own way. Able to make art but not knowing what an artist is. Able to tell story and then get bored with the story she tells.

I'm not really sure how she made 10 from the girl that was born nearly premature in Fremont, California. She's seen us settle in China, change apartments, and then change again. She's seen her siblings and mom run off on adventures while she preferred to stay home and play with friends and when all of her friends moved back to her home country, she stayed home and played computer games or drew. She went from a child that was fiercely dependent on Yang and the ayi to one that is fiercely independent.

I don't know what the future brings for her and I can't wait to find out.