I know my Mom pretty explicitly didn't lie to us about death. It is very rare for babies to die. It is very rare for parents to die. It is very rare for healthy people to die.

And when she asked if she could die she would say that it was very very unlikely and talk about all the people who loved us and take care of us if she could not. This was maybe made trickier by her being frequently sick and hospitalized several times.

And even though she's religious, she tended toward "Well I believe..." in matters of God and the afterlife. We always knew different people believed different things and would talk about some of them.

If Owen goes to one of his Catholic classmates and mentions a "big, angry sky wizard" we'll see how that turns out.

I think it might be easier to explain God to my kids if I believed. DH is agnostic, I'm atheist.

I think it might be easier to explain God to my kids if I believed.

Well, then just tell the truth. "I don't think there is a God."

I remember my friend Alison telling me about asking her dad "what happens after you die" when she was five years old. And he said, "It's like you go to sleep but you don't wake up."

And she was fine with that.

Oh, I can deal with explaining my beliefs--it's the concept of god that sounds really hard to explain.

Well, then just tell the truth. "I don't think there is a God."

Yeah, and maybe avoid "big, angry, sky wizard" as any sort of official definition. It's probably not what most of his classmates and their families have in mind re: their diety.

Oh, I can deal with explaining my beliefs--it's the concept of god that sounds really hard to explain.

Well, you can talk about a few concepts of God. Some people think of God as a creator of everything, some people think of God as having planned everything that will ever happen. Some cultures believe in several Gods, one for the water, one for the air...

I really think "different people think diffent things" is one of the main things for them to learn about, you know, ANYTHING. God, politics, brands of gin...

"The whole world is not like me and your dad," seemed to be a shock to a lot of my classmates when I started college. Some had very narrow frames of reference.

I really think "different people think diffent things"

Aka, The Cowgirl's Creed.

Yeah, and maybe avoid "big, angry, sky wizard" as any sort of official definition.

Oh, definitely. I avoid saying that along with "fuck" in front of the kids.

Thing is, I'm fascinated by religion. I enjoy reading about it and discussing it. So I hope to give the kids a thorough education.

Oh, definitely. I avoid saying that along with "fuck" in front of the kids.

I just said "fucker" in front of my niece when she was nine hours old. Might as well start them right away.

Thing is, I'm fascinated by religion. I enjoy reading about it and discussing it. So I hope to give the kids a thorough education.

I more than suspect you will.

It'll be cool to see how Owen processes some of this stuff. At some point if you gave him an actual statistic (this is fake) like, "Only 1 in 500,000 healthy adults dies before the age of 65," would he grasp that in a way other kids his age would not? Or if he's into lists would he start collecting different religious beliefs?

At some point if you gave him an actual statistic (this is fake) like, "Only 1 in 500,000 healthy adults dies before the age of 65," would he grasp that in a way other kids his age would not?

He's starting to totally grok numbers so statistics might work well with him.

Or if he's into lists would he start collecting different religious beliefs?

Knowing Owen, he'll start polling his classmates and compiling the data.