Today I spent the morning with Amanda, my middle baby. However, she’s not a baby anymore, she’s a woman. I mean, I knew she was a woman, but today it actually felt like it.

I miss her as a little girl. She was the nicest kid I’ve ever met. People I knew from child care would actually ask if she could come over, because she had a calming effect on the other children. She’s never been mean or malicious. Even when she did bad things it was like she didn’t even know it was bad. Actually, we’ve always had a hint that may be a strategy.

Anyway, I went to a doctor’s appointment with her this morning. It was not the best kind, or one that anyone would enjoy, but together we laughed through it. She smiled at the nurses and doctor. She was so nice, and she said sorry for things she didn’t need to be sorry for, you know that polite type of sorry? We went for coffee after. We laughed, we cried, and we shared stories about real life. Then she had to get to work, so she can pay her bills and rent. I just sat in my car and watched her drive away into her own life.

I spent the rest of the day thinking about her.

Today, my child was my friend. She was a best friend. She was a woman friend.

When did this happen?