I forgot why Olivia brought up this topic on our way to a hayride birthday party for her friend Alicia’s 4^th birthday (Oct. 2004). She just went to Missouri that summer and saw her then 89 year old Nana (her great grandmother).

“Mommy, you know Nana is very old, she is going to die.”

“Well, Nana is still doing very well, she may live over 100.”

“One hundred? That is OLD. Granna told me after Nana dies, she will die next.”

It is not comfortable for me to picture my be-loved mother-in-law dying, so I went: “Olivia, Granna is not going to die for a long long time. Everybody dies eventually, but you are so young, do not even worry about it.”

“I wish I can live forever. But mommy, I know why people die.”

“Why?”

“Because they have to, otherwise their kids have no houses to live. There are only so many houses. If old people do not die, where are their kids going to live? It would be too crowded.”

“Hm… you know you may be right, mommy has never thought about it that way.”