While we were up north this weekend we went past the graveyard where Chris's Grandma Lydia is laid to rest (a little less than 2 years ago). Grandma Sue was emotional about it and the girls saw her crying and heard her say that driving past the graveyard was hard for her. This was 1:00 in the afternoon.
Fast forward to 5:30 pm. During dinner Taylor and Molly start asking questions about why Grandma Sue was upset. So Chris and I explained that it made her sad because she misses Grandma Lydia. Molly wanted to know what a graveyard was...Taylor tried to explain it by reminding her that there is an elephant graveyard in the Lion King movie....we left it at that.
Taylor wanted to know where she was in the graveyard. I explained that her body was in the graveyard but that her heart was in Heaven.
She wanted to know if she was wearing clothes....yes.
Is God happy or sad? God is sad that Grandma Sue is sad, but he's happy that Grandma Lydia is in heaven.
Since we were having such an honest discussion over our chicken strips I decided that this would be a good time to let the girls know that Great-Grandma Vervoort was also in heaven now. We had just gone to visit her a couple of weeks ago and the girls remembered how she didn't look very healthy so we talked about her body getting sick and that now her heart is in heaven too.
One of them wanted to know if everyone dies. Yes, everyone dies, but most people are very very old before they die.
Are you going to die mama? Yes, someday...but hopefully not for a very
very long time.
Molly didn't eat much and wanted to be excused from the table. A few minutes later she was curled up on the couch crying quietly to herself. At first, she wouldn't tell Chris what the matter was, so I went and sat with her and asked her what was wrong.
She said she was sad because
she didn't want to die. Saddest little thing you ever did hear!
So I hugged her and told her that that was a long way off~and not to worry about it...we snuggled for a bit and then I went back to the kitchen. Chris went and sat with her for a bit too.
Nothing was brought up today so I assume the concerns have passed...the first of many difficult conversations that lay ahead of us on the parenting front..........
It also made me wonder a bit more about organized religion. I have my issues with some of the rituals of my Catholic upbringing but had to wonder tonight a bit if organized religion provides people with an explanation to tell their children about death. Whether there actually is something beyond our human life is a question of faith...but it's a lot easier to tell my 5 and 7 year olds about a place called heaven than about a hole in the ground....I forsee more soul-searching ahead..........
It wanted to eat my children....I kid you not! When we walked up it was lying on the ground in its cement cage and we walked around to the other side to see his outside pen. 
It wanted to eat my children....I kid you not! When we walked up it was lying on the ground in its cement cage and we walked around to the other side to see his outside pen. 
