I was thrown for a loop yesterday when, out of the blue, J Bean began sobbing and telling me she missed one of our cats who had died suddenly of a freak allergic reaction a few years ago. I was surprised J Bean could remember the cat, but I suppose she has seen pictures and heard about him enough to fill in any gaps. I comforted her and we talked about a lot of questions she had. I pulled from one of my wife's favorite Billy Joel songs and something I had heard from Neil deGrasse Tyson which struck me as comforting in a way few things have in my life. No need to get in to the details, the conversation was all over the place as discussions with a 4 year old often are. It was a touching moment, though, and I'm glad I was in the right frame of mind to deal with the questions. I was also relieved Vv and I had previously discussed the matter so I wasn't forced to make a spontaneous decision of how to address a tiny little person with tear drops on her glasses who was asking me about death. Ultimately, we looked at some pictures of Frisco (the cuddly tabby cat) and were warmed by the knowledge that he was loved all of his days. We followed that with some toddler footage of J Bean which had her in stitches laughing at similarities to her brother (who woke up soon after). My daughter's black cloud of concern was lifted, forgotten and replaced by laughs and squeals. To me it sounded like a lullaby.
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