Questions

Who knew our 6- and 4-year-old could have such thought-pondering questions? Cases in point:

“Mom, are you going to vote for Obama?”

We’ve gotten a couple of mailers and a handful of calls asking us to vote for your brother’s sister’s cousin twice-removed here lately. And, I guess Will heard Scott and I talking. I think Scott heard it said best the other night on one of the news channels. John McCain was asked if he thought that Obama or Clinton would make a good president. His response went something like this…Did he think they would work hard, fight passionately and do what they think is best for the country…Yes. But, (and that’s a big BUT) the Republicans and the Democrats have philosophical differences in what’s best for this country. And, that’s where the distinction lies. So, how do you sum that up for a 6-year-old???

And, equally difficult were John Paul’s questions. Yes, that’s plural. They came out rapid fire. I kind of felt like Uncle Buck.

“Are you gonna die? Am I? When? Where do we go? Is Jesus there? Is he nice? Is Daddy there? Is Poppy there? What’s he doing? How do I get there?” I think there were some more, but those are the highlights. One of my parenting magazines once encouraged parents to just answer the question at face value and not go into too much detail. If you don’t answer the question the way your kids want, they’ll keep asking. I guess John Paul was looking for different answers…

All this talk of politics and dying has gotten me thinking. What kind of world will our kids inherit? What kind of shape are we leaving it in for them? Am I really prepared for the responsibility of parenthood? Are we the kind of parents we need to be? Today, are we a better version of ourselves than yesterday?

Um, Hello, God? I’m waiting for your answers…