"Was I born not to give up?" asks Leyla Fern

The little voice came from the back seat, interrupting the silence.

"Was I born not to give up?"

The person behind the small voice suddenly posing this essential question was five years old, my daughter, Leyla Fern.

The mother and I eyed one another, in quiet awe. Who doesn't want their child to wonder if she was born "not to give up"?

"That's why I never give up on kickball," Leyla continued, giving some clue to what she might have been thinking that led to this remarkable question.

Her mother didn't hear the girl properly; she thought she had said "people". "Never give up on people?" her mother repeated back.

"People?" Leyla asked, as if suddenly deeply offended. "How would I give up on people?"

I have thinking, all day, about these two questions she asked.

"Was I born not to give up?"

"How would I give up on people?"