“Mom, Will You Still Love My Dad?”

hands holding a string of paper hearts up to the sun during suns

“Mom, I just have one question.”

He was in the backseat of the car, still consistently the safest place for such fodder. I suspect there is something exponentially safer about hard topics when Mom’s eyes are occupied with the road and other drivers.

“Ask me as many as you want, buddy.”

“Will you still love my dad?”

“Oh, honey, yes. Forever, I will.”

I adjusted my mirror so I could see him as he looked out the window.

“Think with me about when you read a book that you love, love, love. You love the characters, the story, the pictures—everything. And then you finish reading that book, and we put it on our bookshelf, and then we go to the library or the bookstore to choose another one, right?”

“Right.” I was speaking the language of my bookworm.

“So, sometimes when you choose the next book, you discover this new book is your favorite too. You still love that book on the shelf, but that story is finished and you know how it ends. It’s time to read a new one.”

“Okay,” he said.

“Honey, your dad is like our favorite book on the shelf. We can always love that story, and we can get it down to read it again and again. That was such a beautiful story, always one of our favorites… but that book is finished. We know how it ends, and we can start a new story now.”

“Okay, Mom.  Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, my love.  Every time.”hands holding a string of paper hearts up to the sun during suns

Tricia Lott Williford

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  1. Thank you for giving me a way to express my thoughts to my own children. It’s so hard being the single mom after 20 years of marriage that simply stopped.

  2. once again I sigh and smile and read another story to my husband who loves to hear them. You are a wise woman.

  3. You are brilliant!!!!

  4. Tears, yet again. Your words are such an encouragement. You not only edify your children, but all of us as well.

  5. I agree with Katie (above). You never cease to amaze me and inspire me. You are such a good mom!

  6. Oh my goodness. What a perfect way to explain that. God is gracing you with such wisdom as you navigate these new waters.

  7. That’s just beautiful Trish. I love how God continues to fill you with wisdom for your two precious sons. Praise be to Him

  8. You amaze me everytime with how you explain things! That was the perfect explanation of this… you inspire me ! 🙂

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