I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You’re gonna hear me roar
(Katy Perry)
*****************
It certainly has been a long fighting 4 years of High School for me my daughter. I would not exactly say that there was a lot of dancing through the fire – per say, it was more like trampling and stomping through the raging flames with eager… determination.
She has definitely roared louder than a lion (or 20 all at once) and has championed through hormonal fluctuations, honors and AP classes, sports, part-time jobs, hormonal tantrums volunteer projects and a mother’s disabling condition.
Known for her cautious adventurous nature, reserved yet self-assured demeanor, dogmatic but inquisitive persona, my baby is a go-getter and has always had a mind of her own.
The thing is, the louder she roars, the more love from me I know, she needs. Eager to be independent, she still loves it when I tuck her into bed. She fights my meddling ways but craves my attention and acceptance day after day. She is deeply annoyed by my every move but (I pray) she looks up to me for my endurance, strength and ability to cope with life’s battles.
As we approach the end of her Senior year, having survived the college application process (well, it’s not completely over yet), I couldn’t be prouder of my little tiger. This, in spite of the fact that this past weekend while at her top choice college visit, she ‘taped’ my mouth shut with duct tape so that I wouldn’t say a word to anyone and ‘killed’ my husband with her scornful un-approving look after he high-fived the receiving line on campus.
She will always be Ali-Cat to me even though her roar is far from the meek meow of a kitty, except that now I will add the word, wild to her name.
Ali-WildCat!
She has been accepted to Villanova University and has chosen the Wildcats as her peers for the next four years of her life!
Now if you’ll excuse me,
It is my turn to ROAR!
Congratulations mother TIGER!!! I could hear you roar all the way to Colorado!
My friend’s son his going to Villanova. Small world!
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Glad you heard the roar over there! I’m a little hoarse now but the gargling is helping. 🙂 That is a small world. They will both be freshmen, how cool!
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Congrats to your tiger… and welcome back (soon) from zombie land, Mum and Dad! 🙂
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Thanks, Alarna! We are not quite back yet (fully) but we are happy and proud. 🙂
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Roarrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! Will Al- Cat be playing volleyball??
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No she will not. Maybe just for fun. When we visited we saw some sand volleyball courts, she liked that! 🙂
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Aww. You sound so proud!
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Yes, thank you. It’s bee a…process but we are very happy for her and know she will do great!
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This is so awesome! I can’t wait to hear how your blog evolves next year with two in college. 🙂 More red drinks, please. 🙂
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I’ll have to blog about Mr. Brickhouse a lot! LOL.
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Awww. What a sweet post. Congratulations to your daughter. And congrats to Villanova for being smart enough to bring her into the fold. This is the year, huh? My nephew graduates next month. Our little birds are flying from the nest.
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Such an exciting time for our families. 🙂 The thing I’m the most proud of is my daughter’s ability to stay balanced throughout her High School years. She had plenty of fun along the way. Congrats to your nephew! 🙂
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Thank you! I’m excited for him, but sad for us as he goes off to college.
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Woohoo! Love the song…and I’m so happy for your family. 🙂
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Thanks, Kitt! I’ve been doing a lot of roaring…and drinking since the decision was made. Cheers!
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NICE! Very awesome Villanova is an awesome school and your daughter will definitely thrive there. Congrats to her and congrats to the awesome mom that you are for raising a smart lady. Time to celebrate!
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Gracias, Guat! She worked very hard yet kept a healthy balance between school and life. She had some fun along the way which is the most important factor!
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Congrats to your daughter! Great college choice. I am sure she will do well. Oh, I remember graduating high school. Fun times.
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Wasn’t life great then? You had the whole world ahead of you and were about to embark in the best four years of your life! I had such a blast in college, more so than in High School. Eh…I hope she doesn’t have too much fun! 🙂
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Oh this is so wonderful Maria, many, many congratulations, your pride for your Ali-Wildcat resonates from every word you write here, and rightly so! Oh I do remember this feeling so well with my kids. Enjoy her senior year and get ready for the college years! It sounds as if your daughter will be just fine in every sense of the word and methinks that her wonderful mom just might have had something to do with it 😉
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Thanks, Sherri! I know you have been there as well. I am very proud and know that she will grow tremendously while at college. Not happy that it’s 5-6 hours away, but it will be alright. 🙂
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It will, it really will 🙂
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Awesome! Congrats to her!
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Thanks so much! It is nice to have the decision made so we can enjoy the rest of the school year! 🙂
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Great school choice, Ali! Congratulations, Maria. Wow. What a great life moment.
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It is exciting, Mark. Villanova is an incredible choice and I love the spirit and energy the students have. It’s going to be a 5 hour drive which will make it tough to stop by to visit her but maybe this will make it so she misses us dearly! LOL.
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Distance makes the young heart grow parent-fonder. Every now and then. This from somebody went to two colleges six hours away from my parent’s house. Enjoy the last wild ride of HS and final summer before Villanova, all of you.
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Yay Ali and Yay proud mama! How exciting for you all. Congratulations!
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Thank you, lady! It’s nice to finally celebrate freely. I will be able to say, after this is over, that I survived helping two kids through the grueling college process and am alive to tell about it! Woot! Woot!
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As a mom who’s done it twice, I can say… Best feeling ever!
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Well then, you know! The best feeling, indeed. 🙂
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Way to go, young lady!
(And great job making your mom crazy along the way too!)
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You got that right, Guapisimo! There was a point this weekend when we really wanted to tape our mouths shut so we wouldn’t say anything by mistake! Maybe someday, she will not be embarrassed by us…maybe. LOL.
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Wow! Congratulations, Ali! I’m so happy for you Maria and your entire family. You’ve raised a winner and you should be proud!
Thanks for sharing the wonderful news!
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We feel a big weight lifted off our aching shoulders and can now focus on the “fun” part of Senior year!! And, Sangria! Thanks, Jill! 🙂
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PARTY TIME!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy!
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Proud mama! Yay!
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Thanks, Pam! A proud and exhausted mama! 🙂
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Viva La Tigresa!
What a great honor for her! I am very happy for Ali and am now a Villanova Wildcat Fan!
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I love, La Tigresa!! Ha,ha! Beware of the Tigresa! We are very proud and she feels happy and relieved to have made the decision. I’m still recovering from the weekend. One positive thing that came out of the duct tape thing is that it waxed the upper lip hairs right off! LOL. 🙂
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jajajajajaja @ Duct Tape Hair Removal!
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