Livia: Mom, can I stay with you?

Me, thinking of an upcoming trip: What do you mean?

Livia: When I’m a grownup, can I always stay with you?

Me, heart melting: You can stay with me as long as you want to.

There will come a day when Livia is ready to move away from my side, when she finds her first apartment or moves across the country to a dorm room. But for today, for this moment where she needs her mommy and wants to stay close, I am grateful. I pray I have the grace to let her go when it’s time for her to not need me so much.

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After school Liv told me about a video she watched with a ballerina and a toy soldier. This led to questions about real soldiers and, as I often do, I told her way more than she needed to know. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Afghanistan, President Obama, Congress and, oh yes, God bless the USA. I told her there are some countries where people aren’t allowed to worship God and meet together for church, and there are other places where women aren’t allowed to vote or be in charge of the government. There are some countries where children have to work instead of go to school, and there are some places where the government doesn’t take good care of its own people.

She thought seriously about all this, then asked, with great concern in her voice, “Are there places where kids can’t have play dates?”

I love the six year old mind. Because really, what could be worse than not being allowed to have play dates?