My Daughter Said “Never Mind” and I Felt Guilty Immediately

Dear Delyara, She asked me something while I was doing three things at once. I didn’t answer right away. Then she said, “Never mind.” That phrase went straight through me. Because children say “never mind” when they are protecting themselves from your tiredness. They say it when they feel the delay, the tone, the distance, even if you haven’t actually said anything sharp yet. I stopped what I was doing and asked her to say it again. She did. I answered. The moment passed. But it didn’t pass in me. I kept thinking about how many tiny wounds in family life come from timing, not cruelty.