A best friend in the making

Katie and me last summer. <3

Katie has been my little buddy for as long as she could crawl around behind me. These days, we spend all day every day together. We clean, we cook, we read stories, we play with toys, we do laundry, we go on walks, we talk about Daddy, we take care of Benjamin--and I love {almost} every moment.

Yesterday we were sitting on the floor and Katie wanted to brush my hair. So, I took it out of a messy pony-tail and she got the brush. After brushing for a little while, she paused and patted my hair and said, "So pretty, Mama. I brush your hair! It's sooo pretty." That was when my heart almost melted into a puddle on the floor. In any case, I was quickly reminded of my childhood and times spent with my mom. Playing dolls (she would almost always name her Roberta!), practicing multiplication tables in the bath tub, reading books (until Mom inevitably fell asleep. ha!).

As a little girl, I loved my mom and I really enjoyed spending time with her, but I never realized that when I grew up, she would be one of my closest friends. Until last night's hair brushing incident, I had really never looked forward too much to Katie growing up--I've even written more than once about how I think it's happening too fast! But one of these days when my little girl grows up, by God's grace, into a godly young woman (and probably a wife and mama herself), I won't just be losing a baby--I'll be gaining a best friend.  And that, friends, is definitely a finer thing to look forward to.