End of Days

Fear not, this isn't going to be some long diatribe about how our world is going to come to some hideous end. This is yet another glimpse into the complex inner workings of a 5 year old boy's brain. And what an amazing place it can be!

Earlier today, we were in a store where they just had set up aisles upon aisles of Halloween themed items. Needless to say, Harper and his brothers were excited by the site of it. So much so that Harper tried to convince me to buy Ziploc Halloween Themed Sandwich bags. Despite his pleading and begging, I was able to walk away without buying the bags. Thankfully, my skills of reasoning are just a bit better than his and I was able to win that battle. I am sure somewhere down the line, I will be buying him something else that he didn't really need, but today, I was the victor. Anyway, enough bragging, back to the story.

On the way home from the store, Harper started to ask when Halloween was. I told him it was in exactly 30 days. It took about 3 seconds for the frown to appear. Quickly, I tried to lessen the blow and told him that was just over 4 weeks away. He seemed to like the sound of that a little bit better and I assured him that the time would go by fast. He seemes satisfied, but then got really quiet.

I asked him what was wrong and he started to get emotional. In a sobbing voice, he asked "what happens when the days end, will there be more?" I wasn't sure what he meant so I asked him to explain it a little more. Trying to hold back the tears, he said "will the world explode when the days end?" I of course, was shocked. I quickly told him no and asked him why he said that. He rambled on about "the end of days" and was still emotional. Devin, his big sister, then realized he was talking about days like in a calendar. Harper had thought that once the days end on a calendar that there would be no more and that we all would die somehow. I reassured him that that wasn't the case and that the calendar was simply a piece of paper that helped us keep track of the days. I told him that no one knew when or if the world would end and that we would probably be here for a long time. Of course, that started more questions but, by and by, he seemed okay and satisfied that "the end of days" wasn't upon us.

Of course, it also got me started thinking about life and how much there is in it that can confuse and bewilder small children. It's amazing how their brains can work. One minute, he's high on anticipation and the next, he contemplating the end of the world. All at the age of 5! I suspect, that Harper and I will be having many such conversations for a long, long time.

-Scott