On a related note

November 4, 2009

Autumn and I had a good discussion last night.
First, some background:
When school began, I'm not sure how it came up, but Autumn said that her teacher didn't need to know about Elise, because that's not really related to school. I told her that her teacher would want to know because it is related to her (Autumn) and the teacher wants to know about her. It wasn't really related to anything she was doing in school, just a conversation.
Well, now she is beginning the "family scrapbook" theme and is naturally talking about her family. One homework assignment was a simple "questionaire" about her family. When asked how many people were in it, she quickly counted off everyone and said 7. She also answered that she had 3 sisters.
I have been a little hesitant about talking about these things with her. She will often, very matter of factly comment that she hopes the new baby doesn't die. I have discussed with her that Elise's death is not "normal" for most pregnancies, but lately her comments are generally so quick that a simple "me too" is all the response I can get in.
Anyway, I did ask her about her sisters. Obviously Emily is here and Elise is in heaven, but the new baby isn't born yet, so does she count? And without missing a beat, Autumn answered "well, mommy, just like Elise, just because she isn't here doesn't mean she isn't my sister. The baby in your belly will always be my sister, just like Elise, right"
I wanted to cry. My little girl is far more insightful than she should be and that's just another reason to be so proud of her :)