when does it end?

i took kate to see curious george today. it was so much fun...just the girls, some popcorn and a curious little monkey (aside: they must have used jack as the model for curious george. the expressions, the antics, the totally loveable but incredibly frustrating little ball of energy...totally and completely jack.)

so me and kate. it was fun. i love that she's old enough to do things together like this. she's really attached to me right now...she wants me to put her to bed, to help her brush her teeth, play in the basement with her, and so on and so on. i just read her a bedtime story (cinderella, of course) and when i was leaving her room i realized that this love affair is going to end. in a few years she is going to think my hair is too curly, my makeup is too bland, my clothes are hopelessly out of date and will be horrified that i wear clogs. she will think i don't know anything about popular culture or music and that i don't understand what it's like to be made fun at school or to not fit in because you don't have the right clothes/hair/purse/shoes. (but kate, i understand. trust me, i understand. some day i'll tell you all about my middle school years and the lunches i spent sitting by myself).

so as much as i'm enjoying her attachment to me, it saddens me to know that it will end. that it has to end in order for her to grow up. i just hope she comes back around as she gets older like i did with my mom.