I've often chosen to leave my older children at home with their grandparents, especially when I knew they wouldn't find other kids to play with.
But when they do come—and they come fairly often, since they're happy there—I find myself enchanted. Enchanted by the way they watch some of the young people, as if standing before a mystery. Or by how forthright and transparent they are when they ask me the hardest questions, right there in front of everyone, looking straight into my eyes. And they won't let me off with just one answer. Or when they notice, with genuine concern, that their dad or I are near someone who's a bit more challenging, and they're left puzzled by it all.
Why do I bring them? Because they belong in the world.
- Cristina Tersigni, 2003