Hannah's back!

The first time I remember coming across the 'nature vs nurture' argument was in the film 'Trading Places', which is as good an educational tool as any, I suppose (although it did take me about another ten years to understand the bit about the orange juice futures). 

I can't remember whether at that time I had any particular view on either side of the argument and I doubt whether that changed much years later when Charlie was born, as we had no one to compare her with. And then Hannah came along. As stubborn as Charlie was biddable, self-contained where Charlie was gregarious, she was cautious unlike her bolder sibling. Suddenly, I was all about the nature argument.

Of course, Hannah has changed over the years but, as with her other sisters, I often think I can recognise characteristics in her that were there when she was just a toddler. Which goes some way to explaining why I was so surprised when Hannah announced that she was off to Columbia for three weeks to visit her (relatively new) boyfriend who is out there doing something I should have paid more attention to.

I wonder then how much more Hannah has changed over the years that I have allowed for? Of course, there were some minor anxieties before she went but generally she seemed quite relaxed about the whole enterprise. And when she was there and we were in touch by WhatsApp she reported adventures such as sleeping on a hammock on a beach, which, to be fair, surprised everyone.

But the biggest surprise was today when we met her for lunch. She arrived back yesterday, and so today we - me, Dan, Abi and Izzy - drove down to the bar where Charlie works to welcome Hannah home. And almost immediately, as she showed me her photos, Hannah revealed that she'd been paragliding! Maybe I need to accept that another one of my babies is all grown up.

(Incidentally, one of the reasons I love this photo is that Dan has his eyes closed. I've recently been re-watching 'My Name Is Earl', which is one of my favourite TV shows. One of the running jokes across the series is that every time someone takes a photo of him, Earl has his eyes closed.)