2012
Monday, January 09, 2012
N came into my room the other morning with a concerned look on his face.
"Mom, do you know that people are saying the world's going to end in 2012?"
Me: "Yah I've heard about that but i don't really believe it."
Him: "Well, a really long time ago when they were making the calanders they just stopped when they got to 2012. So some people think the world's going to finish and we'll all die."
Me: "Yah it's scary to think about but really, how could they know? They didn't have cars or computers back then. How can anyone ever really know what's going to happen that far in the future? And they couldn't just write the calendar forever and ever. They could have run out of time, or paper. They could have gotten bored. I'm not worried about it and I don't think you should either."
N: "So you really don't think the world's going to end?"
Me: "No, I don't. I think the world's got some really good things in store. Especially with kids like you in it. And you can't believe everything you hear and read."
He looked satisfied with my answer, moved on to the next topic and asked to borrow my finger nail clippers-- but I thought about our conversation a lot that day. Where did he read that? Where did he hear about that? It's sort of fascinating how much kids can absorb from the world around them and what's going on no matter where they are. Even things you don't particularly want them to know and have to worry about.