Curious Questions

Marshall is in the "why?" stage. Most times his questions are great and I'm pleased he is so inquisitive. Other times, our conversations are repetitive and exhausting. I find myself occasionally saying wearily, "That's just how it is, Marshall. I don't know what else to tell you."

Some of his questions seem to have obvious answers: "Mom, why did you pick up my balloon when I dropped it?" Other questions are rather detailed: "Mom, why do people live on planet Earth but there are only volcanoes on Mars?"

In the days immediately following Amica's passing, Marshall didn't seem too perturbed. Lately though, he has been talking a lot about death. He asks if bugs are dead. He tells me his stuffed animals have died. Today's exchange was one of our more interesting, and I'm not too sure I handled it properly, especially since we have held off on talks of a religious nature with him:

Marshall: Mom, are you going to die?
Emily (caught off guard): Um, not for a very long time.
M: You ARE going to die?
E: Well, not for a very long time.
M: Am I going to die?
E: Not for a very, very long time.
M: Does everybody die?
E: Yes, eventually, everybody dies.
M: Where do they go when they die? Do they go far away? Out of town, like to Tahoe, forever?
E: Something like that, yes.

I then tried to explain the "circle of life" in simple terms. Things are born, they live a nice long life, then they die and are gone forever. We'll see what conversations come next! I suspect he'll probably ask some elderly person if they are going to die. Super.