Girls

Every morning, she stands on a stool that's painted to look like a panda bear. I grab the hair brush, and start to work on the knots and tangles. She chitter chatters, and likes to tell me different ways she wants her hair, or how she's feeling, or sometimes she will sing a song. She carefully deliberates which hair accessory makes the cut that day. Currently, her favorites are 2 hot pink hearts that clip on to her pig tails.

After I finish styling her hair, I always give her a small hug, and catch her eye in the mirror and exclaim "Look how pretty you are!" And for that moment, that is enough. She smiles, and you can see that from the top of her pigtail to the bottom of her toe that she feels beautiful. And my heart catches for a moment, thinking of all of the days ahead when my words, and a clip on heart won't be enough.