This evening on the way home from the beach, my daughter and I were chatting. I can’t remember all the topics. But at one point she asked, “Why are sheep white…” I was just about to formulate some kind of response when she completed her thoughts, “…and not green?” Well…that threw me for a loop. I did not expect I would be asked that question by anybody…ever. But there was the question hanging in the air and I was flummoxed. Where do I even begin to answer a question like that? And, yes, it was a sincere inquiry.

As I was catching my breath mentally, she continued her thought, “because they would blend in and be harder to see.” Can you re-create the mental picture? Green sheep camouflaged to blend into the green pastures and hills that they populate.

Thank goodness I didn’t try to answer that question. And it turns out, she didn’t stop talking to wait for an answer. As a mom I need to learn to listen. Maybe she doesn’t need an answer for each inquiry. She just needs to make the inquiry. These questions must not pass into the air unheard, but be received by the waiting ear of mom.

I, as a mom, must learn to listen, receive the inquiries, discern the need: my daughter might just need to be heard, to say her thoughts out loud. She might not need an answer to the question at all. Oh, the art and discipline of holding one’s tongue! Oh, to be a receptive and discerning listener in the confines of one’s own family circle. Oh, to enjoy our times together!