Kristen in a million words or less

Kristen Ohler in a million words or less. (mom's homework assignment)

It would be much easier for me to describe Kristen in one word, generous . She is generous in every meaning of the word, from her time and attention to her sense of fairness and compassion. She is nothing I ever expected when I dreamed of having my own child and more than anyone could have ever given me. She teaches me every day what it means to really be a good person.

The quick facts about Kristen. She is the oldest of three, she has a sister who is 10 and a brother who is 8. Her father and I have been married 22 years. She comes from a very large extended family here in St. Louis and is attached to our many, many family traditions (from the dance parties on family vacations, to the teepee at Thanksgiving, to the parade at fourth of July). She loves piano and soccer. She likes to do anything outdoors and loves to go to the creek and jump off the rocks (she'll also catch fish, bait hooks, catch crawdads and tadpoles). Her favorite foods are mashed potatoes and shrimp. She is not a picky eater. She has a cockatiel name Tiny and a cockapoo named Sonny. She is an incredible swimmer and set a personal and team best time in the IM this summer. She is the oldest of 12 cousins and has baby-sat and changed diapers for almost all of them. She loves to travel and will go anywhere with anyone. She has an incredible singing voice and loves to act. She is highly allergic to wasp and bee stings. She has very sensitive skin and seasonal allergies (and is probably rolling her eyes at me right now for telling you so much :-)

Kristen is blessed with dyslexia, and I only say blessed because if anyone else faced her struggles they would have crawled in a hole a long time ago. She did not begin to read until fourth grade and has been blessed with incredible teachers who use her passion and excitement for life and turn her on to great literature, when I as her mother couldn't (even if I have been a teacher for almost 20 years!). She loves to TALK (which comes as a surprise to no one who knows her) and she will talk about books for hours. She likes books that contain a personal struggle and she relates to their determination and optimism. She struggles with spelling and written expression, but will rise to her teachers expectations, even when the bar is set high, she has never used her dyslexia as an excuse.

Kristen loves life and everything in it. She will do more for anyone else than she will ever do for herself. She has unlimited patience with others, but not much for herself. Is she a normal pre-teen? Yes, she loves her cell phone and texts her friends way too much, she likes her brand named clothes and is annoyed by her little brother, she loves to go to mixers and football games...but she also reaches out to those who are teased by others or put down for how they look or what they believe in and she always has a kind word to say about everyone, even when they don't always have kind things to say about her.

If it were my choice, I would prefer to not give my opinion of Kristen, but rather have you experience her for yourself. She puts herself out there and leaves herself on everyone she touches. I look forward to her excitement about the books she is exposed to this year and can only hope that she continues to gain confidence in her writing. Thanks for letting me brag on my baby girl!

Tamara