in grace's words...

Love You Forever is one of my favorite books. It chronicles the journey of a mother as she cares for her baby, who turns to a toddler, into a teenager and into a grown man with a baby of his own. At each stage, she rocks him to sleep at night, until the end when he is a father with a baby of his own. By this time, she is too old and too weak, and her "baby" takes her into his arms and rocks his mother.

They always sing this song,

"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living,
My baby you'll be."

I asked Grace tonight if she was going to rock me when I was old and sick. She replied that she didn't want me to get old and sick, and then told me confidently that if that happened, I would just have to go to the doctor.

We said our prayers, hugged and kissed, and said goodnight. About twenty minutes later, Grace came down the hall sobbing. I asked her what was wrong. She was sobbing so terribly that she couldn't speak clearly and I must have asked her to repeat herself twenty times. She finally got it out, "I don't want you to get old and sick!" It was way past bedtime and I wanted her back in bed, so I told a quick lie, "I won't get old and sick, Mommy was just teasing. Now go back to bed."

My sweet Grace, one day will surely be old and sick, and I hope we are still as close as ever. You are such a sweet girl!