Last night I was so tired and ready to go to sleep myself when I tucked in my little girl. We believe in early bedtimes, kids need lots of sleep & parents need alone time. Sometimes I will lay next to her and she will fall asleep much faster. I was very willing to just lay next to her and fall asleep. These nights when I lay next to her are very special. If I am too preoccupied with things I need to get done I will want her to fall asleep quickly. But many times this is a chance for her to talk to me openly. She, of course, is stalling going to sleep.

I was drifting off to sleep when she asked me, “Mom, how long will you be with me?” I was caught off guard and half asleep. I answered, “what do you mean?” She says, “How long will you be my mom?” I answered quickly without much thought, “I don’t know.” My sleepy thought processes are thinking of this earth life. None of us know when our time here is done.

As a side note, unfortunately, there are mothers who don’t get as much time with their kids before they are called back to their Maker. Lately, I have heard way too many stories of mothers with young children dying of all sorts of cancer. These are women who are my age. This has me thanking my Heavenly Father for each day I have with my children. Each day is a gift, whether I acknowledge it or not. I don’t know about every woman/mom, but for me, I would like to live to see my children get married and have grandchildren.

Back to the story, my little girl gave me a tight squeeze around my neck and said, “I want to be with you forever!”

“I love you,” I said and she repeated in her sweet little voice, as she always does when I tell her this, “I love you too.” But then she added something new, “so does brother and sister.” This caught me by surprise. I realized she said this because she has heard me tell her older brother and sister I wish they would tell me they love me after I tell them I love them (They don’t usually). “Why do you think they don’t tell me anymore,” I ask her. “I think it’s just because they are bigger,” her tiny voice answers. “Promise me you will tell me you love me when you are bigger, ” I humbly ask. She says, “I will mommy.”