At bedtime last night DS2 asked ‘how old was Jesus when he was deaded?’

I was quite taken aback at this question, moreso because I wasn’t even aware he was familiar with ‘Jesus’!  Well, I have mentioned him in passing, and tried to impart the fact that 25 December is his birthday, but it seems as soon as I start talking about the meaning of Christmas, something more interesting catches his attention!

And then the next question came , ‘Mummy, how old was God when he was deaded?’.  Oh how I wished I had bought a child friendly book on religion when I was home in the summer!

‘What about the man DD and DS1 know who is deaded, and 1 billion years old, what’s his name?’  Although flabbergasted, I still tried to think of a name besides ‘God’.

Who were the others in the Holy Trinity???? and how do I explain ‘God’ to a 5 year old?

Having told him that I would ask DD and DS1 in the morning, he persisted with his questioning.

‘Do you know anyone deaded in heaven, Mummy?’

‘Yes, my nanas and my grandads’, I replied with a tinge of sadness.  I felt this was sufficient information for the purposes of the conversation, and something to which he could relate.

‘Does that make you sad, Mummy?’  At this point I was welling up.  I became teary eyed thinking about my grandparents, and the mortality of my parents and me and DH, but more because DS2 was venturing into the non-child world, where everything is not so simple or easy to explain.  He was daring to go outside of the safe, cotton wool world DH and I, like all parents, have tried to create, and hold onto as long as possible.

‘Yes, it makes me very sad.  But they are in heaven, having a lovely time, and always watching over us.  They are like angels on the Christmas tree, always watching over us.’

‘Just like Santa’ he replied drifting off.

And as quickly as DS2 ventured outside of his comfort zone, he returned to what made sense: Santa watching and the black and white life of the ‘good vs the naughty’ list!

On checking with DS1 and DD the next morning re: the 1 billion year old man in heaven……DS1 reliably informed me that ‘Jesus was in jail for 1 billion years’.

And off I go to search on Amazon re: that child friendly book on religion.  I am not quite sure where I have gone wrong, but I obviously have somewhere!  I think Nana might have my guts for garters!