A Moment in Time 

My little girl and I have a varied life that incorporates discipline, fun routines and adventures, amongst other things. Yesterday we followed part of our day with much joy until we came across a very minor item in her physical well-being; and, since I am the type of person that is less likely to accept a "I don't know" response to a question, things became emotional for her on her second attempt to answer my question. She had a cut from many weeks past that itched, she scratched it a little to hard and a new scab was forming. No big deal and I wanted to reinforce in her that she is allowed to tell me about things that bother her in any and all avenues of her daily life.

(...We talk all of the time and have a good relationship as father/daughter, adult/child and friend/friend; although, her mother does not agree with this concept of interaction between the two of us, both of us do continue in this way so that we can both learn from one another...)

Anyhow, just as I finished relating the message of trust and communication, she began to cry and cry and cry. I listened to all of her concerns that came flooding out of her in one full and total burst of tears.

"...mommy does not do this..."

"...mommy does not love me as much as you do..."

"...mommy does not take the time to play with me the way you do..."

The list goes on and on, but the message is clear: my little girl is feeling the trauma of the separation, subsequent divorce and the soon-to-be birth of her future half-brother...!

(...sigh...)

I hold her close, hug her, gently clear her tears and comfort her in the ways that I know I am capable of doing. We proceed to have more of our fun once this emotional moment passes; and, as this leads closer and closer to bedtime, she decides that she would like to be a reluctant 7 year old in her attempts to go to sleep. We end up being one hour past her bedtime with her knowing that her talkative run will have consequences in the morning. It does, I smile about it but to my surprise she does actually get ready in quick order so that we continue on our timely schedule for breakfast, her school and my work. My little girl asked me if she was "spending the night with [me] tonight", I state that this is her mother's weekend, she expresses disappointment with a pout or two, we get past this knowing that we will soon again be able to enjoy our time together; and, as I do each and every time that we part, I am sadden by what is her life in all of this but thankful that I do have a beautiful, intelligent little built-in buddy that knows that I love her... And,

"...I love you more, Papa..." remains an echo in my ears and heart to carry me through until the next time.