My Daughter is Me

Today was a bit of a hard day for me. For a variety of reasons I spent a good deal of time crying and mourning the loss of Nathan, my brother. Tonight, on the way to church, Mackenzie unbuckled her seatbelt and I reached back and swatted her leg. I told her to put it back on and she took her time doing it, crying all the while. I asked her to dry it up and she responds, “Mom, I miss Uncle Nathan.” I knew that she was reaching for the one thing that would make me say, “Okay, cry away. In fact, if you don’t want to wear that pesky seatbelt just take it off.” I just smiled at her, and then wept inside because I know that she doesn’t even really remember him. I have to laugh at it now because I know that at the tender age of three she has learned all of my tricks.