Sweetness At Thirteen

Tonight was sweet...

and the reason was my little girl.

Maybe I should clarify and say she is MY little girl,

but, at 13 years of age,

she is not a little girl to anyone else.

(Well...except to her daddy and papa.)

She is an enigma at times.

All those hormones surging,

and not quite sure what to do with them

she can release them on me.

With eye rolls, indignant voice, or just the closed door...

which in itself speaks volumes,

I am not often on her "favorite" list

for more than a few minutes at a time.

But, tonight....yes tonight!

She asked ME if I wanted to go run

on the boardwalk...

with her.

Gasp!

Seriously, she will laugh with me,

but that is usually in the privacy of our home.

To actually invite me to accompany her...

in public...

to a place where her friends could see her

running along side her middle age mom

is a rare honor.

And I say that without a touch of sarcasm.

So...

we ran.

Although my feet hurt from the long day,

and my emotions were raw from some hurtful events,

we ran.

We walked when I needed a break.

We laughed.

We made fun of each others music as I took her for ice cream.

We laughed.

We arrived home and found her dad and brothers

draped upon the living room furniture watching the news.

So she and I took the floor.

She came to me fresh from the shower

and asked me to french-braid her wet hair.

She wanted rolling waves for school tomorrow.

I braided...remembering how many times I've done this task.

And then,

she curled up, her head upon my lap,

and I forgot to breathe.

I touched her hair, her back, and stroked her arm lightly.

I blinked...

and she jumped up to go reply to a text.

But I had that moment.

Actually,

I had moments tonight.

They were rare and therein, lies their beauty.

There was a day I took the hugs, laughter and hands-on care

for granted.

But that day is long gone.

Yes,

tonight was sweet.

And the reason was my little girl.