Strudel, holding a doll: SHE HAS TO DIE, THIS ONE HAS TO DIE!
Me, attempting to edit soups: No one has to die.
Strudel: THIS ONE DOES! THIS ONE IS GOING TO DIE!
Me: No one has to die.
Franny, to Strudel: You have to die.
Me: No one has to die.
Strudel: No, I don’t, do I, Mom?
Me: Yes, you have to die.
Strudel: *SCREAMS*
Franny: I’m going to glue your mouth shut. *Approaches* This isn’t toxic so it won’t taste bad.
Strudel: Do you know what Mom’s going to do to you?
Franny: NOTHING. She wants you to be quiet too.
Me: Don’t feed your sister a glue stick.
Presently: pants are flying off and there is leg wrestling.
I love, love, love der Strudel! Hope you’re feeling better.
Oh, thanks. I was ok. The girls were sick.
Honestly, I just read some parenting article where it said that this is the best thing ever. You are letting them face reality and hence they will not need therapy.
Like all parenting advice it’s bullshit but I admitted to my kid she’s going to die and she freaked and that article made me better about it.
It’s never to early to learn life sucks, I say!
We have had serious discussions about death and Strudel (and Franny) are very aware of their own mortality. But in this case we were just funnin’ because the girls were bored and sniping at each other. A typical day at my house involves lots of jokes about death, imprisonment in the new guinea pig cage, and Skinner boxes. :)
LOL. Reminds me that my mom used to threaten to hang us up by our toenails. Sounds morbid now — but it was never scary sounding to me as a kid. She also encouraged us to think about who we would like to adopt us. Not because she might die. Because she might give us up for adoption. Droll.
A propos of earlier posts, not this one: Have you read “The Chicken Chronicles” by Alice Walker? If not, I think you–and your daughters–would love it.