Monday, February 13, 2012

Rite of Passage

I got a text from Claire and Natalie's father this morning that his maternal grandmother had passed away. This was not an unexpected passing; Grandma Joan had suffered from a lung condition (I can't remember what it's called) for the past several years, and she had been on oxygen even before the divorce. Claire and Natalie had gone to see her around Christmastime.
This will be the first funeral the girls will attend. I'm glad they're able to go, since I think it's important for kids to see that death is part of life. I'm expecting to answer a bunch of questions from Claire, and maybe from Natalie, about this. I'm sure their dad will also get lots of questions, and he's usually pretty good about answering them.
I've explained to the girls about heaven and dying before, especially with the death of dogs, and watching Bambi, and other times the discussion has come up. Great-Grandma Joan is the first person they've known who's died, so I don't know how/if this will be any different.
Claire and Natalie will probably be fine at the funeral itself. They've obviously attended church all their lives, and the service, while different, will also likely be a traditional service and follow a liturgy (Great-Grandma was Catholic). The girls know how to sit still (mostly) in church, plus they'll have lots of relatives around which will be good. I wish I'd be there, but I really don't think that would be a good idea. So I'll wait for the girls to come home and hear their thoughts and questions and hope everything goes well. Which it almost certainly will.

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