Hard Conversations

I don't know if all children are like mine or if I've just been specially chosen but my kids say the darndest things and ask the most jaw dropping questions!

I had to have a really hard conversation with my girls today. I'm a big believer in being honest and upfront with your kids and things that are going on, but telling them things at their level. So, when I got the news that my mom had been admitted to the palliative care ward at the hospital and things weren't looking good, I had to figure out a way to tell my kids.

What I find hardest about these conversations is that you never can guess which way they're going to go. And, with my girls, that's especially true.

Here's a few golden gems from our conversation today:
Me: Girls, grandma is really sick. She's had to go to the hospital and she might die soon.
pause. breathe.
Kelsey: Will Grandpa marry a new wife?
WHAT?! Seriously, that's her first questions? pause. breathe. look at her funny.
Kelsey: well, your grandpa married a new wife when your grandma died.
Me: yeah, well, not yet. maybe. I don't know. grandma's not dead yet.
Kelsey: well, maybe Grandma will rise again from the dead like Jesus.
Me: no. It doesn't work like that. Jesus rose from the dead because he's God. Grandma's not God. But Grandma will get to go and live with Jesus in Heaven.
pause. breathe.
Kelsey: oh cool. She'll get to see the holes in Jesus' hands and feet. I can't wait till I die and get to see what Jesus looks like.
(by the way, she thinks Jesus looks like Eli from the Max Lucado kids books)

Yikes. So, then we got onto a conversation about how we don't want to die, but if we love Jesus while we're living, then we can go and live with him in heaven, after we die, when we're old. Which also led to talking about how we all are going to die, we can't live forever.. oh boy. this was supposed to be an easy conversation. Every time I said something about dying when you're old, Kelsey would interject that sometimes babies die. Oh boy. panic mode setting in.  At which point Morgan burst into tears. After some gentle, "what's wrong Morgy?" prodding. She answered, "Kelsey's my best friend and I don't want to die and leave her." Gotcha. Note to self: Don't have conversations with the sensitive one at the same time as with the curious one.

I suspect we'll be having a lot more conversations like this one. I hope they show a progression in their thoughts though... I don't think I can handle too many more questions like these..