so that you would love me.” EM’s words the other day got me thinking about the human condition.

Hannah Arendt, I’m certainly not. And I’m not equating my daughter’s desire for attention and affection with Hannah’s vision of the modern age .

But her drawing and comment did make me wonder about our the nature of our relationships. And our basic, primal need for love, interaction and approval. At four, EM’s world is focused around our family. At 14, it’s safe to surmise, she’ll be focused on her peers. And at 60 … well, who knows.

The simple equation of a) doing something for b) receiving a (positive) (re)action will be enacted time and again throughout her life - in all realms: public, private and social.

Shampoo, rinse, repeat.