A Star is Born
My family are not Southerners nor are we a part of New York/Boston Society (please note the capital "S") so our daughter never had a coming out party-- a cotillion where the young women are formally introduced to the world. We are not Jewish, so she didn't have a Bat Mitzvah when she is officially declared an adult. Like most of the rest of us, the transformation is more gradual--and there are no grand announcements or milestones to mark the occasion. It happens, instead, almost without anyone being aware-- until one day, there she is -- all grown up, holding her own in adult society.
Last night that happened with Emma. She and I attended a wonderful event (for people who read my last post-- I guess I discover/rediscovered that other side of me) in NYC. All of the big people in the design world were there. Kyle MacLachlan, upon whom my daughter has had a crush for years (he is the actor who was Trey in Sex in the City as well as Twin Peaks (among many other credits)), was at our table as well as a bevy of designers, fashion writers and their partners. It was a joy to see her seamlessly move among them, making small talk and not in anyway be intimidated by the company (all of whom she knew of very well...). Indeed, when she would tell someone or other that she was a senior at Phillips Exeter, they were, each of them, surprised and told her that there was no way she could be a high school student. (Yet, when she discovered that one of the designers was an old Exonian and another was a college swimmer, she was able to make each of them feel like they were long-lost cousins.)
And in many respects they were right. She wasn't a high school student, in her amazing blue/turquoise gown and just a bit of make up, she didn't look like a high school student-- not even a someone going to the prom--but as a gracious young woman. The way she handled herself -- with aplomb-- witty, interested more in her various conversation partners than herself, was the demeanor of someone who was no longer a child but an adult, who acted as if belonged to be there. Because she did.
Now tomorrow I am sure that she will do something or other that will remind me that she is still a woman-child who can snap back into maddening adolescence in a moment. But for now, I am going to savor having watched Emma come into her own.
Last night that happened with Emma. She and I attended a wonderful event (for people who read my last post-- I guess I discover/rediscovered that other side of me) in NYC. All of the big people in the design world were there. Kyle MacLachlan, upon whom my daughter has had a crush for years (he is the actor who was Trey in Sex in the City as well as Twin Peaks (among many other credits)), was at our table as well as a bevy of designers, fashion writers and their partners. It was a joy to see her seamlessly move among them, making small talk and not in anyway be intimidated by the company (all of whom she knew of very well...). Indeed, when she would tell someone or other that she was a senior at Phillips Exeter, they were, each of them, surprised and told her that there was no way she could be a high school student. (Yet, when she discovered that one of the designers was an old Exonian and another was a college swimmer, she was able to make each of them feel like they were long-lost cousins.)
And in many respects they were right. She wasn't a high school student, in her amazing blue/turquoise gown and just a bit of make up, she didn't look like a high school student-- not even a someone going to the prom--but as a gracious young woman. The way she handled herself -- with aplomb-- witty, interested more in her various conversation partners than herself, was the demeanor of someone who was no longer a child but an adult, who acted as if belonged to be there. Because she did.
Now tomorrow I am sure that she will do something or other that will remind me that she is still a woman-child who can snap back into maddening adolescence in a moment. But for now, I am going to savor having watched Emma come into her own.