a new stage ... a new friend

i feel as though i am in a new stage of my life. i'm not sure why. because i'm not a teenager? because i am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in college? because my boyfriend is talking about marriage? i'm not sure why i feel different, but i do.

i guess i feel in a way that i am more "grown up", more "responsible". like i'm more of an adult. i just feel as though i've hit that next phase of life where i am more of an adult and less of a kid.

my absolute favorite part of this new stage in my life is my relationship with my mom. she is my best friend. i love this new phase of our relationship. she will always be my mentor, and she will always correct me when i'm wrong. but i feel as though we are more like "equals" and less like "parent-child". of course, her opinion will always be very important to me, and i will always yearn to have her approval. but it's like the "growing kids God's way" cirriculum states. by the time your children get to be adults, you should have moved from parenting and disciplining them to becoming friends with them. i feel as though my mom and i have reached that point.

sometimes she confides in me about things going on in her life, and i love that! i love getting to know what's on her heart. i love when she shares with me things that are going on at work, or trials she's going through, or great things that are happening in her life. i love to pray for her based off of the things she tells me. i feel as though i know her so much better.

i feel like she knows me better, too. she knows my thoughts, my dreams, my concerns. she just listens. she doesn't judge. she doesn't interrupt or tell me what i should do (until i'm ready to hear it). so i'm not afraid to tell her anything. i know that no matter what my thoughts are she will be there to love me and supporot me. i feel like i can tell her anything, and i love that.

i wish everyone was as blessed as i am to have such a relationship with their mothers. i know not everyone grew up with a mom. i think that's a shame. it sure makes me hold onto my mom's and my relationship that much tighter. i don't want to take it for granted. growing up i was always a "daddy's girl". and honestly, i always will be. so i never dreamed i would be this close to my mother. we have a bond that i never imagined could exist. we have gotten so much closer over the last few years, and i wouldn't change that for the world!

thanks mom, for being there for me. thanks for confiding in me, and allowing me to confide in you. thanks for being my best friend. i love you!