The next generation

The first fifteen years with Christy have been more than memorable, but something tells me I will appreciate the next 15 even more. Whether we were traveling across country or passing notes in home room; these two goofy girls didn't have a clue how things would turn out. One thing we did know; we would enjoy our lives together. Even Rocky Mountains away, "together" always seems to stick. No awkward unfamiliarity or painful catching up on our bi-annual visits. Just like walking into your childhood house you haven't lived in for years; it still smells like home.

Now, our bodies are telling us we're all grown up; but I can still see her sparkle. The twinkle in her eye isn't one of a childhood crush or scheme to find our way out of a bad situation. Now the look in her eye is for Floyd, her first born. I knew he would be golden, but I didn't know how attached I would feel to her offspring. I think she caught it too. I noticed her staring at Lily and Finn and knew she wanted to tease me about how much like me they really are. You don't need much time with the son of a childhood friend to realize how much you love them, both.

Watching our children frolic together in the park and share stories over an ice cream felt like living in our dreams; like a movie's story line we wouldn't have dared thought of back then. What could have been the end of the story, is only the beginning. A really good prologue to the novel of our lives. When Christy tells me I'm a "good mom" in the midst of a power struggle with Lily, I believe she means it. She'd love me and mine even if I weren't, but she has the qualification of history, so her opinion carries weight with me.

We have so many stories to tell our little ones, and most of them won't have to be censored. If something happens to me before I get to tell Lily more of who I am; I'm counting on my old friend Critter to fill in the blanks. If I am talking stories, she is a monumental role in mine. Everyone needs a chapter of Christy, a great part of my history.