A wise woman once asked me (if you are the wise woman, please contact me, for during the 10 years since you asked me I have forgotten that it was you)….

A wise woman once asked me, “How many children do you have?”

That’s an easy question. “Alisa and I have two children.”

“No,” she said. “You have three.”

“Really?!” I said, my apprehension rising with my eyebrows. “Do you know something I don’t know?”

“Oh, no,” she said. “It’s not that I know of another child you have fathered. But you do have a third child.

“It’s a child you’ve never met, one who was born into this world, but was just not lucky enough to be born into your home, into your family. But this is still your child, a child for whom you are responsible. You are responsible for making sure this child is raised with food and medical care, education and opportunity.

“Your mission is to find this child and live up to this obligation. This is your child.