From the Mouth of a Babe

Sometimes it takes a child to put perspective on adult situations

Emily sat on the porch swing slowly pushing it with her foot. Leaning on the arm rest hand pressed firmly against her chin, staring out across the prairie not really focusing on anything. She chuckled, sighed. She had lost all focus since the divorce spending her days on the porch, on this swing trying to figure out where she had gone wrong. How could she have lost everything?

She felt the little one silently crawl up on to the swing. Instinctively, Emily raised her arm so the soft warm body of her five year old could nestle closer to her but continued the swinging and staring, fighting tears that could spring from nowhere if she let her guard down.

"You, ok?" Succor in the form of a curly-haired angel. She tightened her hold on the little girl.

"Yes, sweetness, I'm fine." Her emotionless voice kept repeating the emotionless phrase that seemed to make everyone feel more comfortable around her.

"You know, Mommy, I feel so sorry for Daddy."

Well, thank you very much, God. That's exactly what she wanted to hear. He had been working for weeks to win the children from her either by using the courts or gifts.

"Oh, really?" Emily leveled a gaze on her child and put an edge in her voice she hadn't meant.

The little girl furrowed her brows, concern and question mixed together in an odd dance across the hazel garden of her eyes. Then the look on the child's face softened. Little soft hands reached up to cup mother's face. The little girl sitting on her knees now so that she could look into her mother's eyes. Then in that slow instructive voice Emily had used many a time the little girl replied.

"Mommy, he got all the stuff but you got all the love." Tears came to the woman's eyes as she looked into a face that had grown too mature of late. She wrapped the child up in her arms and smothered her with kisses. Their gales of laughter rang across the prairie. They hugged and resumed their previous positions on the swing but this time there was a peace not found before. The woman sighed and then laughed.

"Well, thank you very much, God."