Groovin'.

When I first found out I was having a little girl, a friend of mine enthusiastically assured me "You two are going to be the best of friends!"

I remember this remark well because I loved the sound of it. I couldn't wait. And now, I'm beginning to understand just what she meant.

Sofia and I giggle a lot. I know which pages of books are her favorite, I know just the way to say that line in the "Caps for Sale" book to make her laugh like a hyena. I recognize that tired look on her face and how to adjust to my "relaxing Mommy" voice to help her settle down. Sometimes, out of nowhere, she smiles a huge smile and grabs my hand to hold it.

It's sort of like a dance we're creating. I take a step, she follows, she takes a step, I follow. Sometimes I step on her feet, sometimes she's way off. Sometimes I lead, sometimes she. As banal as the words are to describe it, it's profound and it's under my skin, a feeling of closeness that's hard to believe I can have with someone so small, someone who's essentially just starting to develop.

As you've surely seen from my other posts, this Motherhood thing is kicking my butt for how hard it is. But this. This is the payoff. It wasn't immediate, like some parents say it is for them. It's taken us some time to get this dance going, to find our rhythm. But, in those moments when it works, it's pure paradise.