Meanwhile...During our Three Months Away

Tennie got a taste of independent living while we were away. She lived in our apartment alone, with a meager food budget to work with. Eventually she knew what it was like to eat Ramen like a starving student! But she is so capable and smart and resourceful that she did just fine.

A few things to mention:

Here is Tennie and her friend Christine, ready for a school dance:

Tennie got into BYU!!! She (and we) are so excited! She'll live in Helaman Halls! Woot! Woot!

Geoff's sister Erica and her cute family threw a surprise birthday party and congrats-for-getting-into-BYU party.

Tennie has been having fun with colorful hair lately. She has had blue for several months, but she's giving pink a try right now.

During an Art & Homelessness Intensive at school, Tennie and a group of classmates mingled with SLC's homeless population downtown. They talked with them about their life stories, attended a Thai Chi class offered at the public library for this population, and choose an art project to highlight the experience. Tennie chose to have homeless people create self-portraits. She collected six and displayed them at the school's Celebration of Learning. Here she is at the public library during that time.

She organized her high school's Never Again march, spread the word, presented the idea to school administration and resolved all concerns, and arranged for classmates to give speeches during the walkout. We are so proud of her activism and leadership.

She is a powerful soul.

Tennie rides her road bike to and from school every day. While we were traveling along The Catlins we got a phone call. She had hit a pothole, went over her handlebars and landed on her face. She had hopped up telling her biking partner she was ok, then blacked out. Due to a hole in her lip and the blackout, the school nurse suggested she go to the ER. Geoff's sister Emily picked her up, took her to the doctor, cared for her in her home that night and got her safely to school the next day. In addition to stitches, she had a slight concussion and took it easy for a few days. She was lucky to have been as minimally hurt as she was!

On her 18th birthday, family took her to dinner, making sure she was heartily celebrated.

Neighbors and ward members invited her over for dinner or dropped food on the doorstep regularly. Family did the same. We were SO grateful she was surrounded by caring people who showed so much love and support.

We missed her fiercely, and I think she began to miss us too, even though she loved the freedom and independence of living alone. She was in California with a friend for Spring Break when we got home, but when she walked through the door, in time for conference weekend and Easter, she was mauled with love. It was a very happy reunion!