It's finally happening.

   Ever since we found out we were having another baby girl when I was pregnant with Charlotte, I've dreamed of this moment.  Of unprompted, spontaneous, love and genuine friendship between my two girls.

   The other day I came upon them playing like this and Jocelyn was singing the "I like you just the way you are" song from Daniel Tiger to Charlotte, while putting her arm around her, kissing her, and hugging her close.  It was one of those moments when your heart lodges in your throat and you want to freeze it for all of eternity.  And not logged away deep in the recesses of your mind-files but within reach, so at any moment you can snatch it back from history and replay it over and over.

Anne Shirley and Diana Berry.
Sherlock and Watson.
Elsa and Anna.
Pooh and Piglet.
Tom and Huck.

   I just want them to be buddies, ya know?  Obviously, they're sisters.  They're already part of each other's lives and worlds and families for life, whether they want to be or not.  But I just want them to WANT that.  I want them to desire to grow closer.  To want to know each other better and deeper and more intimately than they did they day before.  I don't want them to just accept the fact that they are family, I want them to want more.  I want them to want a relationship.

I want them to share secrets.
Make each other laugh.
Get each other's jokes and try to understand each other's weird idiosyncrasies.

   I want them to be each other's biggest fan, protector, confidant, and friend.  And all the while I'm dreaming of this, I know that it isn't guaranteed.  Life remains a mystery and sometimes people born to the same parents are two very different people.  Different personalities, different tastes, different thoughts, different lives.

And that's OK.

   But my hope and prayer for them is that they can somehow manage to cultivate a special friendship in SPITE of their differences.  I'm not asking them to be the same.  I'm asking them to love each other all the while being different from each other.

   It's already so obvious to me that they were not made from a mold.  They have differences and unique quality traits and characteristics, and it's so fascinating to me to watch their little personalities unfold.  I hope that I never squander that, discourage that, or compare them with one another.

I hope I let them be uniquely them, and I hope they offer the same grace to each other.