Bubbles I don’t remember where the camp name Bubbles came from. I do know that my daughter, Tarah, couldn’t have picked a better name for herself. Camp names are a tradition with the “teens” at Girl Scout camp. “Teens” are girls that are in at least the “6th” grade and are essentially in charge of camp. Bubbles fits Tarah’s personality perfectly, she’s vivacious and cheerful- but not in an obnoxious Richard Simmons type of way. She’s always tends to have an optimistic outlook on life.
Although her physical characteristics were the complete opposite when she was a baby, chubby and bald, her attitude was the same, content and always smiling. I even brought her to the doctor afraid something was wrong with her because she cried so little. She started talking around the time she was two and hasn’t stopped since. We lovingly tease her because she even talks in her sleep. As a toddler there were never any tantrums. There was typical toddler mischief, but she was always smiling and giggling while causing havoc. Around the time she was five we had problems with telemarketers calling constantly. I would hand her the phone and supervise what was being said. She would ask if they had pets or kids, about the weather, and other random things until they eventually hung up. After a while the calls stopped. Once she was in school most elementary progress and report cards said something along the lines of “Tarah is a pleasure to have in class, but please work on the excessive talking.” Now that she is 16 and in high school, the feedback from the teachers is the same- great attitude but talks too much. Sometimes her grades reflect her love of being social. At the beginning of this year I had to make a tough decision. She was looking forward to going to the homecoming dance. After hours of shopping, she finally picked out a beautiful light blue dress and the perfect shoes. For those who have never had the pleasure of shopping with a teenaged girl, choosing one dress can take weeks. She was ecstatic over the dress that we bought, seeing her face made all 27 hours of dress shopping worth it. The Monday before the dance she failed an assignment worth a large portion of her grade. I was torn between letting her attend the dance or keeping my word and grounding her from everything. I was sure that if I kept her from going to the dance that she would hate me. In the end I decided that I was her parent and not her friend- no dance. Overall she took it better than I had expected. She smiled as she called her date to cancel and accepted 100 percent of the blame for her not being able to attend. Even before Bubbles started handing out little containers of bubbles to the younger kids, she was one of the camp favorites. With over 75 teens and 150 girls it’s impossible for the girls to know everyone’s name, Bubbles is an exception. Because of her loving attitude everyone always wants to be in her group or with her. She is so admired at camp by the younger girls that one of the incoming teens actually chose the name “little Bubbles”. I’ve lost track of the times a random kid has run up to us in a store yelling “Bubbles!” The majority of the time she doesn’t recognize them, but she still smiles, hugs them, and tells them she can’t wait to see them at camp this summer.
About a year ago, Tarah started this ridiculous habit of flicking my nose. Whenever I or one of her friends are being negative or grumpy, she’ll jokingly flick us on the nose and say “bad bunny!” It drives me crazy, but always causes me to laugh uncontrollably. There have been quite a few times that I’ve been annoyed or overwhelmed with something and she comes out of nowhere and flicks my nose. As much as it annoys me, it instantly puts me in a better mood. She has taught me to not stress so much over things I cannot change, and to smile more.
My youngest daughter attends the same elementary school that Tarah did. I’m active with the PTA and on several committees there, as well as the Girl Scout recruiter so Tarah is frequently with me helping with different events at the school. I was surprised not long ago while we were cleaning up after an event that one of the janitors recognized her. Mrs. Dottie, the janitor, hadn’t seen Tarah in almost 7 years, and still remembered her for her smiling outgoing attitude. She even mentioned the Valentine’s Day card Tarah had given her in the 4th grade. Tarah was worried that the janitors would feel left out, so she made sure to bring them goodies after every class party.
I often wish that I had her optimistic bubbly personality. Few things get her down, and even when they do its not for very long. Although she has been through her fair share of trials and tribulations, she still manages to have a positive outlook on life. While sometimes I wish she would take some things more seriously, I wouldn’t trade her attitude for any other quality. She has taught me to smile more often and appreciate the small things in life.