The Mind of a Child

Yesterday, the moment arrived that I dreaded. Yep, a guppy bit the dust. I was the one who noticed we were one short, and my husband found her body in the plastic plant. This is the first time my son ever encountered death at an age where he could understand it. I wasn’t wanting to hold the conversation at all, since he hadn’t noticed the guppy’s absence. But hubby thought we should have a ceremonial flushing.

So, we huddled around the toilet, guppy floating at sea. I explained that the guppy had been sick and that God wanted her to be better. So he took her to heaven with him. His brows furrowed, and he nodded. “Do you want to flush her?” I asked. He bobbed his head and sent her to the Great Aquarium In the Sky.:shark:

At that point, he said, “Will she be with Grammy?” (side note: my mother-in-law passed away when he was two. I didn’t know he remembered). I nodded solemnly. “Yes,” I said. “She’s with Grammy in heaven with the angels.”

At this point, he studied the toilet bowl intently. “Is Grammy in the toilet?” he asked.

I will not laugh. I will not laugh. I will set a good example.

This was one of those moments when I had to bite my tongue. I have a feeling my mother-in-law was smiling somewhere down on him.