Just Say "I Don't Know."

Someone once told me that when a child asks a hard question to give a simple answer. I should have done that this morning.

Jacob asked me on the way to school, "Mommy, who was the first person to die?" I thought about this and in the back of my mind I really thought I could teach them a lesson about love. My answer: Abel. The next question: Who was he and how did he die. My answer: He was Adam and Eve's son and his brother killed him. Silence. Uh-oh, should I have said that?! Jacob said, "Why would he do that?!" My answer: "Because they got in a big fight and it sure wasn't good. Brothers should love each other." And that was that. So I thought.

After Jacob was dropped off. Aiden said to me (very proudly), "Jacob and I got in a fight and I didn't kill him, Mommy." Oh, no. He didn't stop. "You know, Abel was eating Cain's cracker and Cain got mad and push him off the chair and killed him. I'm not going to kill Jacob." And this continued all the way to school with me thinking, 'what will he say at school!!!'

So, next time, I think I will just say I don't know, followed by "just ask daddy.''