Fallen Tears

I broke the news to Ethan and Emily this morning about their Papa. I started out by saying that there were going to be some changes that were coming up. Emily immediately stopped me and said, "Now I'm getting worried." I told her that it didn't have anything to do with us and that we were fine. (She was probably thinking about what happened last year with the lay-off. That was really hard on all of us.) I told them that Nana and Papa were going to be putting their house up for sale and she started to panic and she said, "WHY??? WHAT'S WRONG??? WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM???" I explained to them that Papa found out that he is sick and before I could even say anything else, she cut me off and just started to sob uncontrollably. They wanted to know why they are moving and I explained that the house that Grandma lives in is actually Nana and Papa's house, too. They didn't realize that. They know how much harder it is for Grandma to get around now and do things and I told them that with what is going on now, Nana and Papa have decided that it is just too much trouble to keep up with two houses. They have decided to get rid of the big house and it will just be easier if they all live together.

Emily was so distraught about the news of her papa. When I asked her if she had any questions, she just wanted to know if I knew what was going to happen to him. I said that for right now the doctors are going to run some tests so they can figure out what they can do to try and help him. And I told her that I honestly can't give her an answer about what will happen. I told her that I didn't know and that is why the doctors are still needing to do more tests. And as she is sitting in my lap and sobbing, I told her that the important thing is that we never lose hope that he will get better. I reminded her about how when she was born we were told by doctors that she would probably never walk or talk. She asked me if I was sad when I found that out. I told her that I was terribly sad and that I cried a lot, but that I never gave up hope that she would get better. I said that sometimes people get better and sometimes people don't, but no matter what happens we will always have each other and that we love each other very much. I also reminded her that right now her papa is still the same ol' silly papa that loves to play with her and tell her stories. I reminded her about how he was teasing her just last night and playing around with her. Just because the doctors say he is "sick" doesn't mean that he isn't the same person that he's always been. I told her that her papa will always love both of them very much.

I just want to make sure that the kids don't dwell on the sadness and can enjoy the time they do spend with him. However, with all of the changes that are about to be taking place, they needed to know what was going on. And now it has been a couple of hours since I told them. The tears have since dried and Emily is happily playing with her cousin who is over at our house today. The sounds of sadness have left my house and I can now hear nothing but the sweet joy of laughter.