a little girl and some pj pants

When I was young and single, I spent many a weekend with my cousin Kathryn. Since I lived in a flat in her town, with two kittens and a closet full of extremely cool dress-up clothes (or so she thought), and she lived with three older brothers and zero kittens, she happily came for sleepovers whenever she could. Being that I am the eldest of 20 cousins and she is the youngest, one might imagine that I could have given birth to this girl. And one would be right. There were days when I wished I had. In fact, I loved to take Kathryn out to eat or to the video store and imagine that people thought she was my daughter. She was adorable and funny and I was quite sure that I must have been the absolute coolest mom in town.

Now, incredibly, 12 years later, I have a six year old of my own and little Kathryn has graduated high school and is off on grand grown-up adventures. This weekend she leaves for a 9-month stint working with street kids in Cape Town, South Africa, getting a way broader view of the world and God's love in action. In addition to adorable and funny, she is now incredibly awesome. I am very proud of my pseudo-daughter.

For Kathryn's high school graduation I wanted to make her something special that she could take with her on her trip. Earlier this year when our grandma died - the grandma that she and I both spent countless hours with, including many nights of sleepovers - I took a small pile of sheets when my aunts and I cleaned out her closet. Instead of using the sheets for their intended purpose, I had an idea of a couple ways I could remake them. One was as pajama pants.


I found a pattern with a wide-bottom leg (McCall's 5989) and cut into the pair that we granddaughters remember so well from our cherished nights in the guest room. I left the groovy wide, white top edge of these funky blue sheets as the bottom of the legs, which made them extra cute. I've already duplicated the idea with two other top sheets for another special cousin and my sister. Someday maybe I'll make some for myself.

For the next nine months, though, I'll be thinking about the little girl with the blue pj pants. I'll be praying that she always remembers where she came from, how much love goes with her and what a cool thing it is to be original. Although I'd still find it amazing to be her mom, I feel lucky just to be her friend. Sweet dreams, Kathryn. We'll miss you!