Lights out

I’d had a pretty hectic day with my four-year-old. When bedtime finally came, I laid down the law:

“We’re putting on your pajamas, brushing your teeth, and reading ONE book. Then it’s lights out!”

Her arms went around my neck in a gentle embrace, and she said, “We learned in Sunday school about little boys and girls in Africa who don’t have mommies and daddies.”

Even after I’d been such a grouch, I thought, she was still grateful to have me. I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes, and then she whispered, “Maybe you could go be THEIR mom?”