What kind of grass is that cow eating in that pasture?
What do the people down the street eat for dinner on Thursdays?
Do the leaders of Egypt go for rides looking for more mummies and gold?
Do {those} people in {that} country worship the one true God? or….other gods?
Mommy, those horses right there! {pointing to a trailer full of horses on the Interstate} Where are they going?! What are they going to do when they get there? Who’s are they?
How many fish are in the ocean? Do fish toot?
Is this ceiling fan made of real wood or ‘fake’ wood? Which country was it made in?
How do you spell ‘again’?
Does the Queen of England put sugar on stuff? {whispers} Does she…have servants to wipe her when she goes to the bathroom?
Are angels boys or girls? Will we even know you when we get to heaven? We WILL still be our family in heaven, won’t we??
THESE. These. Are just a snippet of my day in question form from our girls. And a small example, mind you. I could write a post like this for each day of my life as a mom to our beaming and curious little students. Like an endless array of a lovely sun storm of relentless light. It’s stifling, but also inviting because of what it is. It’s beautiful. It’ll also take the breath out of you. It’ll almost do you in on same days. But because you know in your heart of hearts you want to be the source of their information–you’ll grin and answer something–anything. Sometimes it’s actually a genuine smile…
I only say “genuine” because I will be honest and say that sometimes it’s not “genuine”. Sometimes it’s a forced smile. Sometimes answering one more question is the LAST thing I feel like I can humanly do. You know, with all the other irons in the fire and things hogging mental space (and it’s a lot). My brain cells are at full capacity so many moments of my day. And the questions keep getting fired at me like a bullet from an automatic gun. They are LITERALLY from all over the planet and beyond…and I DO love their thirst for MORE! I DO genuinely love the fact they LOVE to learn about things they literally have no knowledge of. Sometimes, honestly, I get worn slap out from the questions I just don’t know the answer to.
I know some of the things. I Google the rest. And sometimes…I have to tell them this:
Sweet girl, this is one of those questions that I need you to use your imagination on. I don’t know the answer, and no one really does…ask God to help you know the answer. As things comes to your mind about what you DO know about this, go with it! Use your imagination!
This has become my favorite answer, really. To many of the questions! Like, the horse in the trailer one. I tell whoever is asking questions of this sort to make up something in their mind like this: A story about the horse and where it’s going and what kind of amazing life it has, what sweet and kind owners they have and what kind of jumps and laps they’ll do.
I, as an innocent mom and fellow road-user, could not POSSIBLY know where these horses are going, right? We were just on our way to the grocery store, and passed this doggone trailer full of horses. I don’t know the owner(s), the trailer is unmarked, we’re on a road that goes to maaany places…there is literally no telling. I am being “assaulted” by an arsenal of questions I have no hope of ever knowing the answers to myself. Well, it’s not really assault, but sometimes we who have kids in our care feel that way. Brain cell assault, maybe?
I have taught especially our 9 year old to categorize questions. Stuff like this, it’s time to use her imagination. She’s starting to say stuff like this: (AND IT’S AWESOME!)
“Mommy, so I see that ________ over there. I am going to imagination that they are going to ____________. And that they’ll be doing _______ ! It’s going to be ___________.
If it’s an astute assessment of ________, then I’ll applaud her for her using her imagination and not asking a question that I’ll just have to answer with an “I DON’T KNOW.” If it’s something that I DO know about, I’ll give her the skinny on it.
So, if you’re a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, foster parent, caregiver, sibling, or etc. to little wondering minds–take heart! If you’re blessed enough to have these precious impressionable minds in your care, take heart. You are their source for information. And in those moments when you feel so drained and tired and done–just breathe.
I find they ask the “unanswerables” right when I take a bite of my delicious lunch or am gulping a sparkling water that’s hitting all the right notes with it’s sizzle–and then…a question. It’s like a cruel joke sometimes to my brain cells and my mouth that has to come up with something to say when it’s the last thing I “feel” like doing.
I, we, just have to remember who they are and Who’s they are. They were entrusted to me, and your’s to YOU!
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