Prized.

When Harper was 6 she saw a commercial on PBS (they actually don't call them" commercials", they have another, less capitalistic, less corporate, less greedy word for them) for a story contest. She decided she was going to enter the contest and WIN. She wrote and illustrated a cute story about a stingray and some other sea animals. She did not win, but she got a nice certificate. Undaunted, she entered again last year. This story was about her stuffed puppy Sasha entering a horseback riding competition. Sasha won the horseback riding competition, but the story did not win the story contest. Again, Harper got a nice certificate for her participation. She was a little disappointed, but not as much as I expected she might be.

I thought maybe she wouldn't want to enter the contest this year, but mentioned it casually when I got an email about it. She decided she would write a story about a bald eagle. She worked really hard on the watercolor illustrations. She researched details, and we had some great practice distinguishing between "summarizing" and "plagiarizing." She titled it A Bald Eagle's Journey. And the third year was the charm! She was named a finalist, and we all got to go to an awards ceremony at the Children's Museum. She got a medal and a backpack full of public broadcasting "swag" which included a ruler, several pencils, a Highlights magazine, some Daniel Tiger Stickers, and some sort of Leap Pad game that requires a Leap Pad (which we don't have). It was all pretty thrilling. We are proud of her.

I hope she always loves creating. I hope she always finds joy in a good story. I hope she is always as tenacious as she is now.