I have to tell you a sweet, but sad, story that happened the other day. We went to gymnastics and then ran some errands, I was too lazy to pack the girls a lunch to eat while we were in town (I only packed my own), so I had to splurge and get them lunch out. I decided to really splurge and get them Chic-fil-A. Not that Chic-fil-A costs a lot, but we NEVER eat fast food! I figured they always ask to go play on the playground, and I always say no (mostly because of the germ infestation that I can only imagine is in those places). So off we went to Chic-fil-A, they were SO happy, and SOOOO surprised! They ate there lunch and then played with the other children on the playground. This was Ainslee's first time actually playing on one of those, before that day she was scared to go up to the top even with help. As we were leaving the girls spotted the balloons they were giving away, so each of them snagged one. Kaylee was sure to explain to Ainslee how she had to hold on tight, and if she didnt her balloon would "go up up UP very HIGH!" Both girls held their balloons and successfully made it to the car and into my moms house for nap. After nap we loaded up, balloons and all, and headed into town for allergy shots. When we got to the doctors' office, Ainslee carefully pushed her balloon back into the car before I got her out, but her foot got stuck on the string and as I lowered her out of the car the balloon escaped! I tried to grab it, but there was nothing I could do. I quickly thought of something to say as Ainslee watched helplessly. The first thing that came to mind was "Ainslee that was so SWEET of you to give your balloon to the children in Heaven!" Well that little statement opened up a great big can of worms, that began a discussion lasting 2 days (and counting)! While Ainslee had one single solitary tear running down her face, I attempted to explain to her that there are children up in Heaven that will be very happy to play with her balloon, and it was SO KIND of her to share with the children in Heaven. The girls asked all about Heaven "Where is Heaven?" "Why are the children in Heaven?" "Do the children get to go home after going to Heaven?" "Is Heaven in the clouds?" "Is Jesus and God in Heaven?" etc! How do you explain to a 2 and 4 year old about Heaven? I hadnt prepared myself for these types of questions. I told the girls that Heaven was up in the clouds and everywhere, and that once you go to Heaven you cant go back home. Ainslee obviously listened to the 1st part of that explanation while Kaylee listened to the 2nd part. Ainslee thought about where Heaven was for a few minutes and later said to me "Mommy when we go to Washington on the airplane, I will look for my balloon in the clouds!" I was shocked and amazed at her train of thought and ability to express herself. She knows that airplanes go up in the clouds and she thinks that when we go up there she will be able to get her balloon back. She nearly made me cry (darn pregnancy hormones!). And all Kaylee was thinking about was how she NEVER wanted to go to Heaven because I said that after you go there you dont go back home. This made her really upset and she was confident that she was NOT going there!
Since the balloon incident we have been discussing Heaven A LOT, as well as telling EVERYONE about losing the balloon. It didnt help that every 5 seconds Kaylee rubbed it in that she STILL had her balloon. side note: if it would have been Kaylee that lost her balloon Ainslee would have most likely given her balloon to her sister after seeing how sad she was, but not Kaylee! Ainslee told my friend K about the balloon at least 3 times. K has decided that when we get to Washington, there is going to be a GIANT orange balloon waiting for her. She is going to tell Ainslee how all the children up in Heaven blew it up bigger and sent it back down for her. K was heartbroken from hearing how upset Ainslee is about her balloon.
Im not sure if I said the right things, or explained it the correct way, but it seemed to work and sink in. The girls responded well. Hope I havent damaged them for life!
No comments:
Post a Comment