My daughter Ellie, who is five years old, always makes me think when she asks me questions. But one night, as we talked about her birthday party coming up, she asked me a question that would change my whole life. “Mommy, can I invite the pretty woman who comes to see Daddy while you’re at work?” she asked, her eyes shining with joy.
I tried to ignore it at first, but my mind was going too fast. What kind of woman was she? Why did she come see my husband when I wasn’t there? Also, why didn’t he say anything about her? As I tried to keep my cool, I had a knot in my stomach. “What lady, sweetheart?” I tried to sound casual when I asked.
Ellie gave a straightforward answer. “The one with the pretty hair.” She sometimes goes to see Daddy, and the two of them laugh a lot. She once even brought me chocolate!” When I found out that my husband had been hiding things from me, it broke my heart.
That night, I told Jake, my husband, about the strange woman. At first, he looked surprised, but then he told her she was a career counsellor who was helping him look for a job. He was afraid that I would worry about him or think less of him if he told me.
Even though I could see why he did what he did, I couldn’t get rid of the hurt and humiliation I felt. Why did he not tell me this before? Didn’t he trust me enough to tell me about his problems? Even though it was a long and tough talk, we both agreed to work on our relationship and be more honest with each other.
Now that I think about it, I see that Ellie’s simple question had been a wake-up call for our whole family. It made me realise how important it is for us to be honest and talk to each other in our marriage. We were given a second chance to get closer and work through our problems together.
Eileen’s question changed everything in the end. Because of it, we had to face our fears and doubts and build our relationship back up on trust and honesty. As I looked at my daughter, I was thankful that she was interested in the world around her and that she could bring us closer together.
