>And Then I Left the Room and Burst into Tears

>”Mommy?” Punky asked as I was tucking her in.

“Yes, Punky?”

“I want you to live with me forever.”

“I’ll live with you as long as you need me,” I told her. “But some day, you’ll grow up and you’ll probably want to get married and live with your husband and have kids of your own.”

She thought for a moment. “No,” she said. “I still want you to live with me then, too. Promise?”

I smiled. “I promise I’ll be there for you whenever you need me.” We hugged.

“I really do want you to live with me always, though,” Punky said. “You and Daddy. I really do. Will you remember that?” I nodded and she sat up and looked me in the eye. “I want you to remember that, Mommy. Even if I get older and I say I want to live by myself, you just remember what I told you when I was a kid.”

“I promise you, Punky,” I told her, “that I will never forget what you just said as long as I live.”