Today I had a serious discussion with the Princess. On the drive into school, she noticed that the firehouse and the stores along our normal route had their flags at half-mast.
Princess: Mommy? Why are the flags at half-mast?
Me: Well honey...something bad happened seven years ago. This is a way for everyone to remember and to be respectful and to think about what happened.
Princess: Oh...like how we show our respect by flying the flags at half-mast when a President or a police officer dies?
Me: Yes.
Princess: What happened?
Me: Oh. It was something really horrible. I remember that day too. I was up early watching the news and thinking about your first birthday party. There were some bad people that took control over some airplanes crashed them into a few buildings.
Princess: Did they have parachutes?
Me: No honey. Those bad people stayed on the planes and died when the planes crashed. The first plane crashed and that was what I was watching on tv. Then I saw the second plane crash into the building next to it.
Princess: You did?
Me: Yes. I saw it. And a lot of Americans died because the buildings caught on fire and ended up collapsing.
Princess: [shaking her head] I can't believe there are people who would do that kind of stuff.
Me: Yes, sweetie. There are bad people out there in the world. That's why we support the people in the military. They help keep our country safe. Like Mr. P. Remember how he was gone for months on end? He just got out of the military reserves and when he was gone he was helping defend our country.
Princess: He's such a nice man. He's like a hero.
Me: Yes. He is.
Yes. This was our first major conversation about what happened 7 years ago. Now that she's almost 8? I think she'll be able to hear about it. But my little guy? I don't think he'll be able to really comprehend it. Did you talk to you kids about this stuff? What age were your kids when you had the discussion?
No comments:
Post a Comment