She finally asked the question I hoped to avoid forever...

So we were in the car and Peanut finally asked about my mom.  She wanted to know what her name was.  For the last several years, I have always asked her the question back.  She would say, "Mommy, who is your mommy?" and I would say, "Who do you think is my mommy?"  She would usually reply with Nana (my wonderful aunt) and I would tell her that it was a really good guess so I didn't have to lie.  But something felt different about it this time.  Maybe its because she is finally six or because I thought she could handle more information.  So when she asked I told her the truth.  She said that she thought Nana was my mommy.  I told her that was a great guess and that my mommy and daddy were not always able to take care of me so I lived with Nana and Pappy for a while so its like they are mom and dad.  All of that was the truth in its most simplest terms.  I don't think she is ready to know every terrible detail, I'm not sure that she needs every awful moment in my life to fill her brain with devastating images, but I do want her to know the truth.  I also want her to know why I did what I did, I wanted to protect her and her brother.  I decided that I will answer any question she has with the truth in a way that she can understand, but I will not give more information that she needs until she asks.  So for now, she knows both my mom and dad's names and how my brothers (the one she knows and the one she has never met) are connected and how my step-father and step-sister fit into all of this.  It is a tangled web over here, but in the center is my desire to protect my children as best I can from the harm that the world can bring while showing them the beauty that is our world.