How do you explain death to a five year old? Some people think they're too young to be exposed to such a horrific topic, but death is a part of life, and I don't believe in sheltering my children from it. When my friend passed away last month, M and I debated on whether we should bring the kids to the funeral. It turns out the funeral was held on a Monday, so M had to work and the kids had school anyway. We did however, attend the viewing on Sunday night. Without the luxury of having babysitters on standby, the kids ended up going to the viewing with us. Baby M was too young to understand anything, but I did tell big sister K that Auntie I was very sick, and she couldn't get better, so she died and is now in heaven with God. I don't know how much that really sinked in, but both kids were surprisingly well-behaved at the viewing. They eventually got antsy and wanted to leave, but we managed to stay for at least an hour.
A few days ago, we drove by the funeral home. Out of the blue, big sister K said to me, "That's where Auntie I lives... she was sick and she died, so now she lives over there." I explained to her that Auntie I doesn't live there... she was only there for a short period of time after she died so people can go and pay their last respects. I told big sister K we went to the cemetery the next day while she was at school and buried Auntie I in the ground. Then I tried comparing it to when we were in California and had visited my grandmother's grave. Big sister K got confused and asked, "So now Auntie I is in California??" I told her she's in another cemetery near where we live, not in California, but I don't think she quite understood it. That night, she asked to pray for Auntie I. I said that Auntie I is already in heaven with God, that we didn't need to pray for her anymore. Instead, I told her she can pray for Uncle P and K & M (their two kids), so that's what we did.
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