Say it with Taxidermy
Lately Matei has been thinking about the demise of things.
"Mummy," said he, "I will be very sad when you and Daddy cease to be*".
"That won't be for a long time," I offered but he simply shook his head gravely.
"But you will die Mummy. One day, when the time comes, everybody and everything dies."
After a brief pause, he went on:
"Even the cat will die. Then its fur will fall off and its skin will dry and the only thing that will be left will be bones**. And then, because we have loved the cat, we will gently stroke the bones."
He seemed very satisfied with this before adding:
"And then you know, when you and Daddy die I will do the same thing for you. Because I love you soooo much."
I'm not sure how one ought to interpret a son's suggestion for turning his family into exhibits of his own Natural History Musuem, but personally I find it very charming. It's certainly a step up from his previous suggestions of what would happen after I died.
*he used the Serbian word uginuti which means the death of an animal. I've been struggling to find an equivalent in the Roman languages.
** I have no clue where he got Decomposition 101 from. Probably dinosaur books.
"Mummy," said he, "I will be very sad when you and Daddy cease to be*".
"That won't be for a long time," I offered but he simply shook his head gravely.
"But you will die Mummy. One day, when the time comes, everybody and everything dies."
After a brief pause, he went on:
"Even the cat will die. Then its fur will fall off and its skin will dry and the only thing that will be left will be bones**. And then, because we have loved the cat, we will gently stroke the bones."
He seemed very satisfied with this before adding:
"And then you know, when you and Daddy die I will do the same thing for you. Because I love you soooo much."
I'm not sure how one ought to interpret a son's suggestion for turning his family into exhibits of his own Natural History Musuem, but personally I find it very charming. It's certainly a step up from his previous suggestions of what would happen after I died.
*he used the Serbian word uginuti which means the death of an animal. I've been struggling to find an equivalent in the Roman languages.
** I have no clue where he got Decomposition 101 from. Probably dinosaur books.