"When did you become my Mommy?"

Bath time seems to be a time of reflection for Skye. Donna had bath duty the other night and I heard Skye ask, "Mommy, when did you become my Mommy?"

Donna answered, "I've always been your Mommy."

Nickie pressed for more details, "From when?"

"From when you came out of Mama's belly. Actually, I was your mommy before, while you were in Mama's belly." Donna answered patiently.

Skye simply answered, "Oh."

It's true. Donna and I planned for both of our precious children and began dreaming of them before they were biologically conceived. I have this vision that the unborn souls in Heaven are looking for the right match before they jump into our world. I think in our case, Skye was looking for parents with wit, a great sense of humor, patience and tough love. She's gotten that in spades.

Similar to her questions to Donna, Skye asked me the other day where she was when I was a little girl. I told her, " In Heaven, waiting to be born."

It's interesting that from the moment we can speak, we start trying to figure out when we started. It brings a whole new perspective on the age old question, "When does life begin?"

Before I was a parent, I would have answered "When the sperm meets the egg." Now, I really do believe that there are souls in Heaven, waiting to be born. Sometimes a soul will wait human lifetimes before it's ready to join us down here. Other times, it will jump in as soon as it can, eager to experience the human condition.

Personally, I believe we will never really know when our lives begin. As a spiritual person, I don't think we need to know. All we need to embrace is that each and everyone living creature on this planet is connected somehow. The sanctity of that belief system is what governs how I walk in the world. Donna and I both do so with respect, gratitude and reverence. I trust that our children will do the same.