Little Minds

It’s funny, what little minds can pick up on and remember. I’m too often blown away by one of the girls repeating something that was said in passing, or a memory from months before.

Today, as we were driving around, Adri noticed that flags were at half-staff. “Someone died,” she said.

Back in February, when Justice Scalia passed away, the girls instantly noticed a flag at half-staff when we drove by. We don’t live far from the flag on base, so they’re used to seeing it raised completely. Right away, they asked what it meant.

In honest terms that a preschool and kindergarten would be able to understand, I explained that someone important had died, so the flag had been lowered to remember them.

Fast forward to Memorial Day, this year, and they got a little bit more of a history lesson. As soon as we stopped at the stop light that faces the flag, Adri asked who died. This time, John was able to explain that the flag had been lowered to remember all of the Soldiers (because let’s be honest here, my kids only know the small world that is the Army) that had died.

And then we have today.

Adri always wants to know names. Anytime I’m scrolling through Facebook or Instagram. She wants to know the names of every single face. Dogs too. So, she asked who had died.

As I struggled to come up with an honest yet understandable answer, Veronica chimed in. “It was the 50 people at the concert.”

First, I asked how on Earth she knew that. Apparently, she overheard John and I discussing it over the weekend. But then I continued..

It was the 50 people at the concert. A bad man was angry and had a gun and wanted to hurt these people, so he went to the concert where everyone was having fun and killed them.

And then Adri asked why.. That’s when I realized that their innocent little minds are so much bigger than the small minds in the world.