Braids please!

Every morning after my daughter gets dressed and has her teeth brushed she comes running to me with her hairbrush and case of hair accessories. I ask her how she wants her hair done and she gives me my orders and I proceed. First we have to decide on what colors of hair ties or barrettes we should use. Then we brush her hair out and get it all styled. Sounds simple right? Just something I do every morning, 365 days a year. I realized something this morning. As I am styling her hair she begins to talk to me about anything and everything. We discuss T.V. shows, books, homeschooling topics, the weather, pretty much anything. It is a brief 10 minutes or so that we spend this way. Just her and I quietly bonding as two females over a very girly task. But, how important those moments are! I am sure when she is 13 or even before that she will not want to spend this time with me. Gone will be the braids, ponytails and animal barrettes, replaced by clouds of hairspray, hair dye (hopefully not that soon), and shut bedroom doors. Will she still be willing to sit and talk with me like we do now during "hair time"? I am not sure. But, I so hope so. That is why today I am grateful for "hair time". Those brief minutes I get to spend with my precious daughter every morning just her and I talking and relating to one another and hopefully in the process forming a bond that will outlast the sparkly pony tail holders and barrettes with bells on them. I am so thankful that I was given the gift of a daughter and that I get to be her mother. I know she was meant for me and I was meant for her. We are kindred spirits her and I bonding in the age old female tradition of "hair time".