On Self-Giving (or, What Is Love?)

Sonya: aaaaaaaa*plplplpl*babappplapla?
[Translator's note: Since leaving the womb, Miss Toner has naturally been exposed to dialectal influences from her own misguided generation, necessitating minor edits for clarity. For instance, "bro" and "dude" have been replaced with the preferred usages of "old sport" and "daddy-o."]
Sonya: What is love, old sport?
Me: To love is to will the highest good of another.
Sonya: That seems glib.
Me: Merely terse. I don't have room to cut and paste The Brothers Karamazov. But I grant you that there are nuances.
Sonya: I should say so. For example, I believe that I love you and Mother.
Me: We hope so.
Sonya: But with my ratiocinative powers being at such an early stage, I can scarcely be expected to understand the concept of your good as distinct from my own. I love you because you feed me and do silly things to make me smile.

Me: You do have a wonderful smile. But I take your meaning. Of course you can't yet pray for us or help with laundry or tend me in my age.
Sonya: Especially as you're so full of youthful vim.
Me: Why thank you.
Sonya: I get an allowance eventually, right?
Me: Well played. Point is: our highest good is to live out our vocation as your parents. So for right now, you love us by letting us love you. You keep eating and packin' chub onto those little legs, and figuring out speech patterns and all that stuff. Nothing makes us happier, or holier (funny how that works), than taking care of you. Now, since we're all equal creatures of God, there will no doubt be times when we can fully depend on each other, fully need each other, and truly sacrifice ourselves for one another.
Sonya: No greater love than this.
Me: Zackly. And before long, you'll be able to love actively, and give back to us in whatever way best suits the woman you're becoming. But remember that ultimately, none of us can give back to God. Everything we have is given to us by Him. So we're all in the position of loving Him solely by accepting His love. And of course by serving Him in one another. But like your mama said last week, what return shall we make to the Lord for all His gifts? We accept the cup of salvation and call upon His Name. And all the other loves flow from there.
Sonya: Trickle-down love-o-nomics!
Me: Was that a Reagan joke? Nicely done, old sport!
Sonya: Thanks, daddy-o.