Writer's Workshop: The Death Talk

It's Writer's Workshop day over at MamaKats so head on over, check out the prompts and write yourself a little story. When done, head back, link up and read around the blogosphere. It's fun. It's entertaining. Hey, all the cool kids are doing it, and you can too.

Today, I chose the prompt How Do You Manage The "Death" Talk With Your Kids? Let's begin.

Fortunately for me, we haven't had a loss in our lives since my children have been born. They still have everyone that loves them and cares about them in their lives. That doesn't mean that I haven't been asked questions about death though. Ethan did go through a phase when he was 3 1/2 and 4 where he asked constantly about death and dying. I also have a picture of my grandfather from 1954 that he asks about quite often. My grandfather died of cancer when I was 18, and 4 months pregnant with Ethan. Ethan has visited his grave with me, and seen lots of pictures, including the 1954 pictures, and he always asks about him.

So, I usually am quite direct and honest with him. When he asks, I tell him that my grandfather, his great grandfather, was an incredible man, and I loved him very much. When I was 16, he got cancer. Cancer is a lot harder to explain to him, but I tell him that his brain got sick, and his body couldn't fight it, so doctors helped. Then, the doctors couldn't help anymore, so he died. I usually explain that when you die, you don't come back, and people who love you are sad, and miss you. We talk about my grandfather's funeral, and he asks if it's a party, and I tell him that it kind of is. It was a celebration of his life, and it was a place for people who loved him to come together and be sad and happy together. He always seems really satisfied with this response, and carries on about his day. He understands death, but he's 7, so the questions always come up, and I'm always happy to answer them with honesty and understanding, just like I'll answer any other questions he and Claire and Grayson will come to me with over the course of their lives. I'm mom..That's what I do.

In unrelated writer's workshop news:: Grayson laughed today! His first real, not sleeping laugh. I was undressing him for his bath (which, for the first time in his 6 weeks of life he did not scream all the way through!) and when I got his right arm out of his little onsie, he just started laughing. His little belly was shaking and everything. I wish I'd had a camera handy. It was the cutest thing! All these little things he's doing is making me sad that he's the last baby we're having...But I'm done. We both are. Three is our limit.