☕ A Sip of Flava

Eighteen

Today, Kimora — aka Eddison — turns 18.

And I’ve been sitting in my tower thinking about time.

When I left, she was nine.

Still my Nanny’s girl.

Still small enough to lean into me without hesitation.

I missed years. Important ones.

The in-between years.

The middle school shifts.

The teenage layers forming.

And I won’t pretend that part doesn’t matter.

But what I came home to?

A young person.

Highly intelligent. Thoughtful. Observant.

Still finding herself — but already comfortable within herself. And that’s rare.

She doesn’t just “write stories.”

She builds worlds.

Character development.

Plot layers.

Logistics.

Environment.

She thinks through how everything connects. Not just what happens — but why it happens.

That mind?

Sharp.

She has traveled across the United States with:

• Technology Camp

• Hearing Impaired Camp

She represented her school in the Academic Bowl for four years — four.

She’s part of the United College Fund College Tour.

She’s in the NAACP College Prep Group.

And then there’s the part that makes me smile…

Cars.

Anything with an engine.

She’s enrolled in a mechanic class.

A neighborhood garage agreed to let her come help.

Brains and torque.

Storyboards and spark plugs.

That’s her.

I missed some years.

But what I get now?

Conversations.

Story breakdowns.

Spreadsheets.

Plans.

Laughter when she’s ready.

I don’t push.

I wait.

And when she opens up, she opens wide.

Eighteen.

Not perfect.

Not finished.

Still unfolding.

And I love what I get to witness now.

Happy Birthday, Eddison.

You are exactly who you’re becoming.

— Love, Nanny Flava