Learned Avoidance…

It was a regular Sunday afternoon. My wife socKs and I were sitting at the dining room table having some lunch. Our five year old had already finished and was in the next room, sitting on the floor with the laptop having some computer time. He was busy on the Playhouse Disney website, a favorite of his.  He’s been singing along to some of the videos on the site by the Imagination Movers and the Happy Monster Band.  And he’s perpetually excited and enthusiastic about what he finds — and will often make sure to tell us exactly what’s on his mind.

So we’re having a conversation, socKs and I, and we’re met with some interruptions:

Aba! Scott from imagination movers has a craaazy moustache that’s funny!

And we acknowledge and keep talking about someth…

Mommy! I’m playing drums with the Crazy Monster Band Hoe-Down! And Konichiwa is hello in Japanese!

How nice.  We’re excited that he’s so connected to music.  He’s going to want a drum kit when he gets a little olde…

Aba! Smitty from Imagination Movers is sharing his guitar with me!

So — drums or guitar. Maybe both. And singing. He loves singing. And the computer.  But hey — we’re especially proud that he’s able to entertain himself and use his imagination during his creative playti…

Mommy!  Your Dad is going to die!

And then we were quiet for a moment. All three of us. The proverbial phonograph needle let out a proverbial record scratch.

“What…. what did you say?”  I gave him my deep “I mean business” voice. We’ve already gone through many conversations about death when my mom passed away two years ago.  This is a kid who really saw things up close. And he knew that this probably wasn’t a conversation that would only be a couple of sentences.

He was quiet for a few seconds and answered.

“Nothing?“

I mentioned, firmly and calmly, that it wasn’t a very nice thing to bring up.  He understood. And a few moments later he was back to his musical antics.

I guess we’ll revisit this conversation at another time…