Just this morning Salem told me she's scared to die. I know that to a large degree this is natural topic to come up since her great grandmother recently died. For those that may not know - Nannie lived with us for the last 2 years until May when she went into the nursing home. So Salem was very close to her and Nannie's death was her first real exposure to the finality of death. Salem mentions Nannie almost everyday.
But this is the first time she talked about death in regards to herself. She mentioned she didn't want to go to heaven and leave her house and Sparkle (the cat) and Nina (the dog) and her toys and me.
I simply let her talk and told her I understood and I didn't want to die either and that it was ok to be scared but then when I time came heaven would be a wonderful place but that I didn't think it would happen for a very long time.
But I am not sure that really helped. I really didn't know what else to say. I don't want to over-simply or get too spiritually deep on what is such a hard question to answer at any age, much less at 7.
Salem is such a sweet girl. VERY sensitive. She picks up on emotions very well and is very empathic in nature. I also think she has the gift of discernment.
Any ideas?
***This is a part of Steady Mom's 30 Minute Blog Challenge
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4 comments:
some times there are no answers, no fixes... there is just hugs and love and time....
With time, I'm sure her thoughts will dissipate on the subject. I'm sure with Regina dying, as well as Nannie, it's really on her mind a lot. I think it is ok, especially at a young age, to shield them from such topics (Regina's passing for one). Obviously, her great grandmother's passing is different, but sometimes these things are just too much for them to handle.
I had the same issue when my mom died 2 years ago. It is stil a very hard subject for me to talk about, but we do. My mom lived with us too. So my kids were with her everyday until she was in the hospital so they new she was sick too.
I guess what helps right now is that we talk about all the fun things we did together and I have lots of pictures of my mom with the kids and let them know how much she loved them. I try to focus less on the death and more on the life she lead. That seems to keep them from thinking about dying. Hope that helps.
So I am just random blog hopping--something I rarely do, and came across this post. When I was 8 my school teacher was murdered and a close family friend died of a heart attack. I was terrified I would be next to go, but I never verbalized that fear. I think it is wonderful your daughter has expressed her feelings. Just telling you and having you acknowledge them will be of a great benefit to her. She may not need anything more than that. But it also helps to know that this life is not the end and when we do die, we will just be returning to loving parents on the other side of the veil who will welcome us back. Best wishes.
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