It was one of THOSE moments.  I suddenly had a keen, crisp awareness of the fleeting of time.  I saw my *baby* girl as she truly is – an almost 4½ year old young lady with a whole self of her own that is growing up.  And though at that moment she was asking me to turn on the faucet to wash her sticky hands, she would not always need me to turn on the faucet.  I gently rinsed her hands with not-too-warm water, with the spray feature on the way she likes it, and danced the water around longer than necessary as she wiggled her fingers under the streams.  I found the towel and took extra moments to dry her hands as I soaked her in with my eyes.  I planted a kiss on her nose and said, “I love you, Katriel,” and moved in for a hug. 

She brightly responded, “I love tomatoes.  And you, Mama.”

Psalm 90:17
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!