Everlasting

Ian came downstairs this morning to see the girls nestled in on the sofa, still in their jammies, tending a pair of stuffed animals wrapped smartly inside Fiona's trusty yellow blanket. As he kissed them goodbye before work, he asked them what they were doing.

"We're playing a game I made up that we like to play," explained Fiona. "It's called Everlasting Colds. Our bunnies are sick, and we get to care for them, and cuddle them, and talk to them, and bundle them, and feed them, and nurse them so they can feel better." Nora beamed and nodded in agreement, patting their little charges.

Ian sat down next to the girls and hugged them. He said to them, "Your Mom and I do something a little bit like that every day, but it's not a game. Nobody HAS to be sick, although sometimes they are. We call it . . . Everlasting Children."