When “Rissa May Stay With Me, Daddy” Breaks Your Heart (and Fills It)
It happened on a Tuesday. No rain. No dramatic music. Just the hum of the dishwasher and the click of the front door latch as I got home from work. My daughter, Rissa (age 4, going on 17), was sitting on the living room rug, building a castle out of magnatiles. rissa may stay with me, daddy
I heard: “Rissa may stay with me.”
Twenty minutes later, she crawled into my lap without a word, smelled my shirt, and whispered, “Okay, Daddy. Now ice cream.” If your little one ever tells you they’d rather stay with me (meaning themselves), don’t hear rejection. Hear readiness . When “Rissa May Stay With Me, Daddy” Breaks
When Rissa says, “Stay with me,” she’s not pushing me away. She’s inviting me into a more advanced level of trust. She’s saying: I know you’re right there if I need you. But for now, I’ve got me. I sat down two feet away from her castle. Not inside it. Not directing it. Just the hum of the dishwasher and the
There’s a phrase I never expected to lodge itself so firmly in my chest.