Both ends of the spectrum.

Do you ever have one of those moments with your children? We all do. Probably more than we even realize.

Several months ago, a note was mailed to all of the parents of the 4th and 5th grade students in our district alerting us of an upcoming meeting to view the human growth and development video prior to our children viewing it. Eva was only a week old when it was shown, so I didn't attend. However, one of my friends did, and she reported the video would be just fine. In fact, it was straight out of the 80's with the cast of Annie as the main characters, and she wasn't worried in the least about our girls seeing it.

I wasn't really concerned about Hannah seeing it, because she and I had already had "the talk". Over the last couple of years, I knew it was coming, but I had no idea how to approach the subject. I just wanted it to be a comfortable situation for her, and didn't want to bombard her with information that she wasn't ready for yet.

So I prayed. I prayed for guidance to know what to say, and when to say it. But above all, I prayed that I would be able to answer her questions in a way that made her feel comfortable and unafraid to come to me with more questions. I prayed for a way to convey to her the sacredness of what we would discuss, and that she would have an appreciation for the beauty of her body. I wanted the discussion to be led by her questions, so she wouldn't feel cornered by an onslaught of information.

As I knew would happen, that day came. She had some questions, well a very specific question actually, and as the conversation began, I kept a prayer in my heart for guidance and inspiration. I was guided. The words that came were not my own. I knew it, and I was so grateful. Her questions were answered, and of course that brought on more questions, but as I listened to the Spirit, I was able to answer those too. It all went better than I could have imagined.

That was almost a year ago, and she has continued to come to me with questions as they have come up. She already knew everything that they were going to see in the video, but I figured she would have some more questions anyway. I didn't know when they would be watching it, so I just told her that when they did, to come to me if she had any questions at all.

Over the months, I waited, and nothing. I wondered if she had even watched it at all. Then a couple of weeks ago, she came running through the door after school, and announced that she and I needed to have a talk that night. I knew what this was about.

That evening, as I was nursing Eva, Hannah came into the baby's room completely eager to talk. She said they had watched the video, and had more questions. {So Hannah. Always the question asker.} We talked about her concerns, about how her body would be changing and what that would mean for her.

As I sat there nursing my infant, while discussing very grown up things with my 10 year old, I was struck at how surreal this situation was. I literally felt like I was looking at two completely different ends of the spectrum. I'm starting over on one end, and opening a new chapter on the other.

It was a bizarre and beautiful realization all at the same time.