Always Smiling

Paige asked me this morning, "Mommy, how come you're always smiling when you look at me?"

Do I tell her that she and Tony are the reason I exist, and that my smile comes from knowing that I will always be their mother, that I'll be able to see them grow and learn and that I'll be able to help them sort through their troubles like no other person in the world because they are the love of my life and I will never stop loving them? Do I tell her that in her eyes I see potential for the greatest happiness in the world? That her innocence is still untarnished and that I see that she can hold onto her own happiness if I do my job correctly? Do I tell her that God made her just for me and that I am smiling because I see Him reflecting back to me when I look at her? Do I tell her that when I look at her, happiness swells into every part of my body and that she and her brother are the most amazing things in the entire world? That they are a puzzle to me, a solution to me, a question and an answer? That every single thing that hurts in this world - all the troubles, tears, pain and sorrow - stop when I look at them; that they keep me in the moment?

I opted for a simple answer that seems to encompass all of this. I said, "I can't help it, you are beautiful." And the smile that lit up her face with the sincere recognition of what she is was awesome. It made me more beautiful too - I couldn't help but mirror her radiance.