Sometimes when M wakes up he asks a big question, as if he has been dreaming of distant philosophies, alternate dimensions, or investigating the wide spectrum of human achievement or human limitation. I often sit on the edge of his bed as he works his way out of sleep wondering aloud about the world. This morning I was sitting at the table working on my computer when he emerged, sleepy-eyed, from his room.
"Kate, do you think some people find happiness from thinking they are better than other people?"
I pause as I have learned to do.
"Why do you ask?"
He shrugs in response.
"Maybe," he murmurs "but what do you think?"
Before answering I think for a moment. It is difficult not to begin moralizing, but I keep trying to be a parent who broadens his worldview, rather than narrows it. "I think some people do find happiness from thinking they are better than other people, but I don't think it's the lasting kind of happiness."
He nods, picks up his cat, and takes her back to his bedroom, leaving me to wonder about the definition, texture, and expression of happiness.
