The other night Mike, Em and I are driving home and Em breaks the comfortable silence with "I know what happens when we die and I don't want to die." Needless to say, Mike and I were speechless. Where did this come from? How did she put this together so soon? HELP!!!
I gain my composure, give Mike the "huh?" look and say, "Talk to me Em, whatcha thinkin?"
"Well I know that when we die, we don't get our bodies back and we don't come back. Your grandpa died and he didn't come back. I don't want to die...and I don't want you and Dad to die either. I don't want anyone I know to die. Papa is 62 - is he going soon?"
Slowly we explain that part of living is eventually dying and that while that is kind of scary to think about, it shouldn't be frightening. Mike, in a moment of true parenting, tells Em that the beauty in knowing that we will eventually die is that we have the choice to live each day with all the happiness and joy we can create. That each day is a beautiful and valuable gift and for that we are thankful.
We explained that we carry with us memories of the ones that we love so that they live on forever in our memories and thoughts. Just when Mike and I find our stride, Ace of Cakes comes on and Em is effectively done with this topic.
Mike and I on the other hand take a deep breath and realize that our little girl is growing up before our eyes and we best heed his advice and live each day to its fullest. While she is still our child, she is only six once!
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