#sol29 Day 26 Your Mom is Having a Baby!

There is a lot of talk recently on what we should share

with young children about the pandemic.

It makes me think of a time long ago when my parents

failed to tell me about a big family change.

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"Your Mom is having a baby! the boy sitting next to me said excitedly 

as my Mom came to the classroom door.   

"No she is not," I said confidently because she was certainly not having a baby,  We lived in a tiny trailer home, my mom, my dad, my sister and me.  I'd know if she was having a baby! "Boys are such know it alls," I thought.

I packed up my bag and headed home.

The next morning, my dad was sitting on the side of the bed, strangely dre ssed in his work clothes in spite of the early hour.  "You're a bit sister, this morning,," he smiled and I knew without asking that he was not referring to my little sister.  Handing me a tiny stuffed animal, he added, "Your little brother, Jeremiah, was born this morning.  Mommy is at the hospital with him."

"What about me?" I think I asked.

"You are going to school, today, and then Mrs. Parke (our neighbor) will meet you at the bus.

And so, I headed back to second grade and sheepishly learned how that growing belly my mother called "getting fat" was a sign of a reproduction, from the boy sitting next to me.

While I agree the nightly news is too stressful,

it's probably best to talk to kids in a way they can understand.