"Who would take care of you if you were the first person born in the world?"
Uhm....
Earlier we were upstairs in the playroom. We had just finished sewing part of a pillow she's making, and she laid down on the floor for a little rest (we're still recovering from tonsil surgery). After a moment of staring at the ceiling, contemplating, she sat back up. "Mom? If I die, and then I get alive again and I have to get my tonsils out....I have an idea." She went to her arts & crafts drawers and took out some paper and markers, and started making signs. We had done this before her surgery, with index cards, in case it hurt her to talk and she needed another way to communicate the things she wanted. Really it was a way to prepare her for the surgery - I wasn't sure she'd actually need the signs, but the process of making them opened up conversation about the various aspects of recovery and what she was likely to experience. We drew stuff like popsicles, applesauce, juice, the TV, her Leapster, some board games, the bed. So this morning, for whatever reason, she decided she needed a repeat session of sign-making. She drew the computer, to indicate she wanted to play a computer game, and her Toy Story II movie, which she is watching as I write this.
On the couch a few minutes ago is where & when she asked the question about being the first person born in the world. GW and I looked at each other wide-eyed, and answered that people have been asking that question, in various ways, since the dawn of time. She decided that astronauts would take care of you, were you to find yourself in that situation, and went back to her movie.
Great answer, Av! Your friend Mado was recently given a little radio and has been sharing with her family the music of whatever station comes in clearly - which most of the time tends to be pop music or Christian radio. Every song is taken literally of course prompting many interesting questions, such as this gem "If Jesus is dead, how is he going to save anyone?" *sigh* The lyrics "we don't have to take our clothes off to have fun" from some 80s song also prompted some interesting questions. I'm finding that sometimes it's safer not to answer these and just let the child make her own conclusions. The astronauts can save me any day.
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