Tell Me Lies, Tell Me Sweet Little Lies...

"Daddy, how did Uncle Mikey die?"

We were driving around the village today, and the kids were talking about how blue the sky is and heaven. You know, heavy stuff like "What do clouds taste like?" and "Can we really eat anything we want in heaven?" Oh, and my favorite: "What do meat-eating dinosaurs eat in heaven? Do they chase us around, or eat our pets?" All good questions in my opinion.

My answers were pretty much on the level: "I guess clouds taste like whatever you want them to taste like." Also, "Sure, you can eat anything you want. But eating deep-fried Kit Kat bars drizzled with fudge every day might get old, you know?" And "Well, I guess Mr. Allosaurus would probably be happy chasing around clouds shaped like a big 'ol brontosaurus."

And then my daughter hit me with the Uncle Mikey question. She's almost eight. The boys are almost four and six. I paused. What do I say? The honest parent in me says I should tell the truth. The realistic parent in me says I should phrase my answer in an ambiguous sort of way, without telling an outright lie. In this case, realism trumped honesty. At least at the ages the kids are at right now.

I mean, come on, do I really want to tell them that Uncle Mikey sat on his couch, put a gun to his head, and blew his brains out? Not right now, I don't. That can of worms is for another time, another sunny day, another discussion about heaven, blue skies, and things to eat in the afterlife, whatever that may be.

"Well, Uncle Mikey had something wrong with his head. He was sad and confused a lot." I paused again, thinking of how to better explain things without going into Suicide 101. Lucky for me, I was bailed out by Target. "Daddy," my daughter asked "can we get a treat at Target?"

So we picked up a treat at Target and swung by our FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store) to look at all the cool (geeky) stuff on the shelves. I know the Uncle Mikey question will come up again at some point. And I'll be ready with the honest answer when the kids are older.