Ukraine Adoption

A little religion

Kids try to figure things out, and they take what they learn and apply it to their own expanded explanations. I have found this to be most true when it comes to religion, especially when we grownups kind of make up stuff because we can't really explain everything, particularly on their level.

So this brings me to little Tara Vika's World of Religion. Today, when we drove past a cemetery, she tried to explain what happens to people when they die. "They are at the cemetery in the ground and they can't see or hear anything and people bring them flowers," she said. Pretty good, I thought. Then she went on: "And then they peel their skin and go to heaven." Ewww.

What happens in heaven? "People say to each other, 'I died,' and they do stuff," she said. "My Grandpa is there and so is my dog."
Who is God? "He watches us," she said.

An interesting point: Every time I asked Tara a question, she didn't hesitate to come up with an answer. Sometimes she was twirling her hair, as if in deep thought. I couldn't resist. I kept going. Who is Jesus? I asked her. "He died and then he waked up," she replied.

Whose birthday do we celebrate at Christmas? "Mine!" she said. (Her birthday is in January) Try again, I told her. "God, no Santa, has a birthday!"

A side note: Today Tara told me she can speak "English, Spanish, and a little Russian because that's where I was when I was a baby." Wow, she remembers everything I tell her, like a little sponge. Now if I can just figure out where she got the "peel their skin" explanation... (see above)