The connection between a mother and child is such a beautiful thing.

My little niece is back from Japan, and oh how she has grown! She's such a bundle of joy. She has always, understandably, been close to her mother. And even now, she would only allow anyone else to hold her if her mother was within her sight.

Just last night, we were all sitting around her on the floor chatting, and she was so happy to play and giggle because she knew her mother was just behind her. The moment Sayo stood up quietly to go to her room to get something, Mia immediately sensed it, and turned around. Seeing her mother had left, you could just read her sadness on her face; before she started sobbing.

I'm sure she will allow her mother to leave her side for some time as she grows up, but the bond between a mother and a child is so strong, and so natural.

It is terribly sad when children lose their mothers at a young age. It is even worse when they are rejected by their mothers, or abandoned, when the only people they trust at that age are their mothers.

That is why I love being with children who have had to go through such situations. When they hug me, I can sense how much they need someone to love them, to protect them. And just for a moment, I am able to be that person for them.