When you are talking with an 8-year-old, the conversation can progress into uncharted territory in a nanosecond. That happened to me last weekend when my granddaughter was visiting.
I have a beautiful large nativity set that was given to me at Christmas. The holy family is encased in glass. When a button is pushed, a light comes on inside, and glittery confetti flies around the scene. My granddaughter quickly found this and fell in love with it. She kept repeating, “Nana, I really like this,” as she pressed the button over and over. I assured her that I liked it, too. “In fact”, I told her, “I plan to keep it out all year so I can look at it.” She agreed that this is a great idea. Taking it further, she said, “You can keep it out all the time. And if you move, you can pack it and take it with you. You can keep it forever! Or at least until you…” She frowned and looked at me. “What happens to people’s stuff when they die?”
Oh dear. Back in the hot seat again. Hmmm….This is the same child who demanded to know at age 6 why a certain area of land was so messy with “rocks” all over the place. It really bothered her every time we drove by the cemetery. I finally had to explain to her that when people get old and die, their “people” who love them put up a stone with their names and birth dates to honor and remember them. She was happy with that. I did not tell her what was under the headstones.
I explained that most people decide what to do with their stuff before they die and introduced to her the concept of a will. She wasn’t getting it, so I gave her an example. “Let’s say your dad has two pocket watches. He can write down that he wants you to have his gold watch and your brother to have the silver watch.” She gave me a thoughtful, “Oh.”
Later that day, when her mother came to pick her up, she demonstrated the nativity and got upset with me when she found the knob for the music box. I had forgotten to tell her about that. She proudly announced to her mother, “Nana told me all about wills and used daddy as an example.” Now the look that came my way was one of great interest to say the least. I said, “Okay, let me explain….”
Only an 8-year-old can put you in these kinds of situations!
Ha ha! Her mind is always working, isn’t it? Nothing like having kids around to keep our minds sharp. I guess I’d better put her name on the bottom of that nativity set in case I “go” before my will gets updated!
hehe…Leanne didn’t tell me about that! I feel your pain though. T. has put me on the spot before. I believe it’s the fastest I have ever had to think! (She asked me if “bad” people get visitors to their stones…we, of course, had just gone by a cemetery!)