Following a little girl with big dreams

I recently had a rare weekend recently where the majority of my Horton family was together.

The occasion was the wedding and reception of my grandniece, Rebecca Marie Horton, now Richardson.

We enjoy being together, but it’s harder to round us up even for a party.

Her dad, who is my nephew Randy, returned to the U.S. from Germany, and her brother Ryan flew “home” from Washington state with his wife and children. The rest of us live in Missouri, but because of COVID and life, we don’t get together as often we would like.

Rebecca, better known as Becca, wanted an intimate ceremony and a small reception. We enjoyed being together and meeting her husband’s family and friends.

One member of the family I took great pleasure and pride in spending time with was my great-grandniece, Veronica Jean, better known as Roni. She is 9.

A lovely young lady, she enjoyed her glittery shoes and special dress as much as her jeans. She knows her way around the dance floor.

I enjoyed watching her and hearing her mother, Kayla, describe things Roni enjoys doing. I could tell from Roni’s actions, she probably doesn’t meet many strangers and she enjoys everything.

When Kayla’s vehicle needed new brakes, my grandnephew was changing them when Roni, dressed in her mermaid costume, approached him.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

He replied, “change the brakes on mom’s car.”

Her next statement was something like “I’ll watch and change the other one.”

She watched. I praise her dad for letting her install the second brake.

Smiling, mom Kayla explained when Roni finished correctly installing the brake, her mission was accomplished and she headed, still in her mermaid costume, to a pile of dirt to play.

The family loves to camp, and starting the campfires is one of the latest of Roni’s accomplishments.

Of course, she’s always supervised with dad adding the big logs. When the fire is going, she and the family dog, Thor, enjoy running and exploring Washington’s forests. She’s also learning to shoot a gun, again under her parents’ watchful eye.

Some of you may recall an earlier column about Roni’s career plans. She’s planning on living in the White House. Not as First Lady, but as President. I hope I’m still around to cast a vote in that election.

Barbara Ann Horton is a staff writer at the Daily American Republic.