On Sunday we went to grandma's house to eat cake for Joe's birthday (cause you know God forbid we celebrate without her) and to buy bikes. We got sweet rides at Robert's Bicycles where they were very helpful (and tolerant of my saying I want a cute bike) and are putting our bikes together right now as we speak!
This morning we went to a funeral. Our neighbor Mrs. McDonald past away on May 13. She was a spitfire of an old lady. She was staunchly Conservative (she would have gladly watched Bill O'Reilly with my dad given the chance), owner of 5 (or more I'm not sure) rescue dogs, singer in our church choir and loved the boys. She was one of the few older neighbors that I actually liked stopping to talk to while walking down the avenue, she was just a cool old lady and I'm going to miss her. So I took the boys to her funeral this morning. Well no I took Jude to the funeral, Joe I left in the park with another mom. I admit it, I didn't know how to explain death to him (despite having to do to explain it to other kids last year in my classroom); especially when the death was of a person he knows. Plus he is not so fantastic at church going...
So no market this week. We are going to go to the "fruit store" later on and I will try to buy as locally as possible though. But all the while I will be thinking of a friend who just entered into contract to buy a house near this store and I will be jealous. And also hating myself for thinking "what are they going to do with her house" as I mourn Mrs. McDonald.
3 comments:
If you figure out the "how to explain death" thing, let me know...I have a hard time with it because I don't believe in heaven or the after-life or anything like that, but that seems a bit harsh to lay on a three-year-old...
we read 10 good things about barney in our class last year and used that as a jumping off point (but it felt hollow when talking about a child or adult death vs the pet in the book)
the thing i have a hard time with is explaining the sick then dead part. not every sickness = death but how do you explain that nuance to a child? and old doesnt always = death either and what is old anyway?
We talk about people getting "broken" - sometimes you get so broken that you can't be fixed, and then you go up to the sky, and sometimes you get a little broken and the doctor can fix you or you don't get completely fixed but you can ride around in a special car and don't have to go up to the sky. ("go up to the sky" is apparently what she was told about her mother; "broken" is something we started saying when she was still learning English, I think we came across a broken elevator or something and that word stuck for people too).
The problem now is that she has started asking me if other things go up to the sky when they get broken, like cars or houses...oy...
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