A strange conversation with my 6 year old nephew...

We were babysitting our nephews tonight - they were all up in bed and asleep.  The oldest one came downstairs at one point because he had woken up and just wanted to see what was going on.  Anyway I took him back up to bed, and as I was about to go back downstairs he said "I don't want them all to die."

I stopped not quite sure I had heard him correctly.  I asked him to repeat himself, and he said it again.  So a little uncertain of what was going through his mind, I asked "Who don't you want to die?"  He told me that he didn't want all the people to die...I asked him who he meant specifically, and he said "Everyone."

Well, I didn't really know what to say to him - I don't see him a whole lot so don't know him overly well.  Anyway, he was fairly upset about the matter, and so I asked him why everyone would die.  He said, "Everyone will die; then God is going to judge them all.  After that everything will go back like that", he held his hands out like he was holding a box or a ball.  Then he said, "Then everything will start over again."

This was so out of the blue; I really didn't know what to say to him.  His parents are not religious in any way at all...and so it was a little strange him talking about God, but well kids pick these things up all over the place.  But what seemed odd is that he seemed to be struggling to articulate what he meant.  He seemed to have a better understanding of this than the ability he had to communicate it (after all he is only 6).

The only thing I could think of to say - and I knew it was the wrong thing before I even said it - was a typical adult response, "Who told you all that, where did you learn it?"  His reaction to that was one of utter disappointment, he just drew his blankets around him and said "I just know it."  And then he changed the subject and started talking about Power Rangers.  And I knew asking anymore about the subject just wasn't right.

Well anyway - it was just plain weird.  I just wish I had reacted to him as I would anyone else that talked about such issues, and been more open and aware rather than talking down to him (which is something I never ever to do kids - why do people always talk down to them??  So that makes it very odd that I reacted the way I did).

I somehow feel as though I missed out on something vital there...and I somehow feel I let him down as he clearly wanted to share something that was troubling him.

But what overshadows all that is the feeling of surprise I am left with.  He was just talking like he was aware of something very profound and spiritual, and the next moment he felt I couldn’t understand him, so he began talking like a kid again.

Utterly bizarre…