I had a dream once, ages ago it seems now, and in it was a little girl around 2-3 years old. She had a round face and hauntingly gray eyes that trapped me in an instant. Her dark curly hair hung down past her shoulders. It was frizzy and unkempt from hours of running outside and playing dinosaurs without any concern of appearance. She would impatiently brush it from her eyes and continue her games, squinching up her face to roar. The curl of her hair demanded their presence to be known with those perfect curls that you couldn't help but reach out and pull it taught, just to see it bounce back to its original form. She was joyous and bright. Maddie, my little sunshine. She was beautiful and she was mine.

There were more parts to this dream, and they're a tad wonky and pointless to this event, but I have to write this out because it's capturing my attention... I speak of this because last night I went to a "girls night" at a friend of my moms. (Which means that the other 4 women there were easily twice my age and the three kids running around were under the age of 6.) The numbers diminished and while the remaining ladies talked, I played with the little girl that was left-- Lindy, 4 years old, and an almost exact replica of my dream Maddie from a couple years ago. Slight differences in the nose, and Lindy has these intense green eyes and obviously had a little Isbell missing from the mix.. But it was there. I honestly had to stop on occasion and shake my head to make sure I wasn't imagining. It was definitely surreal and somewhat shocking. I met this little girl a few months ago on a past visit to Washington. While I was struck by the familiarity of her appearance, it didn't quite capture me until I played with her last night and saw her face light up and her hair dance behind her as she played.