what if

I wonder what she's going to be like when she's three. Will she tell me NO? Will she ask lots of questions? Will she tell me about her imaginary friends?

I wonder what she's going to be like when she's five. Will she still love books? Will she be holding her blankie in the crook of her arm when she sleeps? Will she talk with a lisp?

I wonder what she's going to be like when she's seven. Will she look forward to losing her teeth to the tooth fairy? Will she insist that I know nothing about seven-year-old fashion? Will she hang out with me in the kitchen when I'm cooking?

I wonder what she's going to be like when she's fourteen. Will she play sports? Will she make music? Will she be an artist?

I wonder what she's going to be like when she's eighteen. Will she love learning? Will she express herself in words or athletics or art? Will she tell me that she's brave enough, that she's strong enough, that she has all that she needs to make good choices - to face the world - to become the person that she's capable of becoming?

I love her so much now-- the little girl she is, the quirky things she does, her fearless approach to life. I adore her for now and for later, for her possibilities. I can only imagine how much the boundaries of that love are going to stretch with time, stretch to encompass not only who she is, but to embrace that person she will become tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow as her possibilities become traits. I don't know what those traits will be. But I know one thing: she's going to be amazing.