Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle

A little girl always sits between Mama and Mommy at the table — but when Mommy leaves on a work trip, she has to figure out a new place to sit and a new way to carry how much she misses her.

For the kid who feels a missing parent in their whole body, this puts words to that ache — and to the relief of finally being back in the middle again.

• Big idea: Missing someone is its own kind of feeling, and it's okay to sit with it until they come home.
• Vibes: tender, quiet, warmly domestic

• are working on handling a parent's absence
• respond well to gentle, true-to-life family stories
• love routines like library trips and phone calls
• like to talk about big feelings using big comparisons

• Feelings & empathy: How do you think the little girl felt when she couldn't find a good place to sit at the table?
• Story detail: She said she missed Mommy as deep as the ocean and as high as an astronaut in the stars — what would you compare your missing-someone feeling to?
• Real-life connection: What do you like to do with Mama or Papa when someone else in your family is away?
• Feelings & empathy: Why do you think it took her a minute to shake off that empty feeling even after Mommy came home?
• Imagination: The girl got an idea after passing a garden — what do you think she might have wanted to do?