John: “Mom, every person on the earth has a reason for being here, because if they didn’t, they wouldn’t have been born. What’s your reason?”

A) I have no idea where he came up with this and b) I’m not completely sure if I agree, but for the sake of conversation, I’ll play along.

Me: “Maybe being your mom is my reason.”

Pause, followed by an exasperated sigh that must foreshadow his teenage self.

John: “Mom, any person that’s a mom or a dad could use that as a reason. I’ll go with that unless I do something really interesting in my life that I can use instead.”

Long pause, this time from me. Thinking of how being a parent is the biggest risk I’ve ever taken, and how he is the greatest reward. Thinking about seven years of hands held, tears dried, goals reached, fears faced, eyes rolled, lessons learned, and laughs shared.

No words to express to a child that on good days and bad, easy days and hard, this is the interesting part.