It was one of those moments that, as a parent, you really don’t know what to say.
Sutton and I were travelling down the road the other day when she pointed out a restaurant.
“Mom,” she said. “I want to go eat there.”
I turned to look and saw a fast-food chicken restaurant. It was a restaurant we’d never been to before and I’m not sure why she’d want to go. The only thing I can figure is she liked the bright figures painted on the side of the building.
A little further down the road, she chimed up again.
“Mom,” she said. “Look! It’s a Valentine’s store. I want to go there.”
I turned to look and saw a sign with a giant heart on it. In the middle of the heart was the name of the store. We will call it “Snuggles.”
It was an “adult” store.
For some reason, she kept talking about this store.
“It’s a Valentine’s store. They have candy I bet. Can we go there? Can we?”
Eventually, I had to respond and did what so many parents do. I changed the subject.
Thankfully, that solved the problem. However, Sutton’s only three and can be quickly distracted. What do I do when she gets older and her questions aren’t answered so easily?
The tough questions have already started.
“Where does God live?”
“How does Santa get in our house?”
“Why can’t our dog talk (or fly. Or drive. The question varies.)”
“How come I don’t have a sister?”
“What happened to Chi my fish?”
The last question was a tough one.
Sutton’s first Betta fish, Alpha, went to the big bowl in the sky. We bought another one, Chi. He lived for a couple of months before he, too, floated to the top of the bowl. We made a decision not to buy another one and told Sutton that Chi died.
She even attended the watery funeral, performing the ceremonial flush. Since then, I’ve answered lots of questions about where Chi has gone. I told her God has a special place for good fish like Chi and now, he’s a whale.
That answer seemed to satisfy her. And maybe the next tine we pass the heart store, this answer will work.
“That’s a doctor’s office, honey. They repair hearts.”
Pretty good, huh?