This is our home.

Just when I think my little girl has said every profound thing that a three year old could possibly come up with, she does it again.

This time, I was feeling down and burned out from working, trying to creatively juggle a pile of unpaid bills, grocery shopping, and a hopeless pile of dirty laundry. I decided I needed a therapeutic snuggle, and called her in to my bed. She hugged me tightly, looked up at my face, and seemed to sense the pressure I was feeling. She stroked my head, patted my back, then said," It's all right now, Mommy, This is our home. You're safe here."

As we fell asleep together, I thought that somehow, she had grasped the very essence of what I needed to hear. I know I am the adult, and I would never have burdened her with my troubles, but she seemed to be in tune with my feelings at some level. I drifted off, feeling glad to be safe at home, and more at peace than I had in a long time. I felt then,and not for the first time, that young children have an instinctive wisdom about them, and I was grateful for it.