A special day

My Neice and the bag she made

Last monday I spent the day with my niece. Such a special girl, reminds me so much of her father, my brother. I picked her up and we toodled around together. I took her to lunch and we chatted. Embarrassingly this is a first for us. With divorce being a factor in so many lives today, precious parental moments trump extended family time.Although I see my brothers kids it's rarely one on one.

We made Thai salad together for dinner, then I taught her her how to paint bags. She happily created as we talked. During the day I kept feeling more like her grandmother, sad that mom was never alive to see the beautiful five foot eight grand daughter she'd secretly wished for.Although very capable this girl has so much untapped potential! I kept thinking too bad mom wasn't here to teach her how to make pies, how to crochet, sew, share hair secrets.

There is such a family distinction between Pepper and her, both so similar to my mom. Both mature beyond their years, loyal, tender, goodhearted girls, just like mom. Strong, confident, fun loving, resilient young women. Both wired to take initiative in many areas of life, both ladies have been spurned by other girls at one point in time too. Even though there is a huge age gap there's potential for lifetime bond between these cousins.

It was a nice intimate visit just like chatting with my brother is. Her boyfriend came for dinner. surprise surprise looks so similar to my brother when he was young. Ambitious this personable self motivated young man has already done some acting as a child, is a plumber aspiring to be a fireman. He's an incredible guy whose parents and grandparents both met as teens and are happily in long term marriages. I'm so glad my niece has a young man who treats her well. We definitely need more auntie niece time!