Answering Her Question

“My sister taught me a parenting trick for when kids ask a difficult question like "Is Santa Claus real?" or "What is sex?" Simply ask, in earnest, "What do you think?” and listen. At the least, it buys you time. My daughter, three, in the car one evening, is silent. Then asks, "Mama, will I die?" I just drive. Try to keep the car tethered to the earth. Somehow the trick surfaces within me and I ask, "What do you think?" In the rearview mirror I see her smile looking out at the purple sky. She says "I think I will never die." I tell her, "That’s what I think, too." And I do, I do.”