Last night before falling sleep, my DS3 asked me out of the blue, "what is abortion?" How do I explain something like that to a 3 year old???!!! I stammered along and managed to give him a ridiculously simplified answer which he seemed to accept (sigh of relief!). But then he asked in a very concerned voice, "you're not going to have an abortion, are you?" I'm pregnant right now. I reassured him that I will not have an abortion and he happily chattered along about the baby brother/sister he is expecting.

Another difficult question he had asked me in the past was about the conflict in the Middle East. He wanted to know if it's possible ("if they got angry enough") for someone to blow up the Sears Tower or the John Hancock Center. We live in Chicago and he LOVES these two buildings. He was really worried. I absolutely hate to see such a little guy worry about something like that, but I couldn't lie to him and say it's impossible. I reassured him as best as I could that, American people are very very careful about protecting big buildings like that, especially after 9/11. I hope I'm right for everyone's sake!

I sometimes end up crying silently after such conversations because I realize just what a messed up world we live in and how beautifully fragile my child seems in it.

On a more selfish note, I must admit I worry a bit that he might talk like that with people who don't know that he is "different" who will surely think I'm a crazy mother for teaching her child about such grave matters! I've gotten surprised looks and raised eyebrows from people when they find out DS can read or answer a math question posed to his 7 year old cousin ("Let your child be a child. Why would you push your child to learn things like that when he will naturally learn them when he enters school?"). They don't know I have to constantly redefine what's "natural" and "normal" for a child. It's so nice to talk about these things here without fear of judgment. smile

Junior