Still Innocent Enough

"Mommy, if you would just let us do whatever we want, we would never eat candy again."
"But what if I let you do whatever you wanted, and the first thing you wanted to do was eat candy?"
"It wouldn't be."
"How do I know that?"
"It wouldn't, I promise. I'd never eat candy again."
"Unless, of course, you wanted to, in which case I would have no choice."
"Right, you would have to let me if you were letting me do whatever I want, but really, I'm telling you, I really wouldn't do that so it's still better for you."
"I don't believe you."
"So no? We can't do whatever we want?"
"No deal."

Elan turns 5 in two days - old enough to try (and often succeed) at talking me in circles, yet young enough that when he opens his eyes at night to find my face eerily close to his, watching him sleep and examining every line, curve and feature with an intensity that surely anyone else in any other situation would find unsettling- his first reaction is still to smile.