Brianna: I think we like, pray everyday at school.
Me: What? (Seriously confused, since it's a public school)
Brianna: Yeah. Every morning we like, umm, stand up, put our hand over
our heart, and we PRAY for the flag. We look at it for a while, and then
we pray for it.
Me: Ohhh, you say the Pledge of Allegiance?
Brianna: Yeah.
I've never been a super religious person (a statement that's probably making my Papa roll in his grave). I don't go to church regularly, I think the loljesus meme is hysterical, and I once jokingly told Brianna that our family Christmas party was Jesus' birthday party. That ended up backfiring when she remembered the night of the party and wanted everyone to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, and questioned them as to where His presents were.
I'm not against religion whatsoever, I just like to believe what I believe and don't really think I have to be preached to to be reminded. Also, I'm lazy during the weekly services, and work every Sunday morning. Anyways, I'm absolutely fine with Brianna learning about different types of religions and practices. I even let Derek's grandmother take her to church, which I was a bit hesitant about, only because B is not one to sit still for an extended amount of time. When she got back from the service, she was absolutely wide eyed.
"The people singing almost made me cry. Not cause I was sad but because
they sang so pretty! You know, sometimes you can happy cry!"
I was so touched with what she said, I briefly considered going back to church. She had loved it so much! But wait! There was more to say!
"There was a man standing up front talking forever. I think he was a story teller because it sounded like he was making it up in his head."
I've reconsidered. We're not going back to church. I needed to find new and different ways to teach her about beliefs. What better than a children's movie? Apparently anything would have been better than All Dogs Go To Heaven. I thought Brianna was going to plot an attack on me in my sleep after I made her sit through it. Within the first 10 minutes, Brianna was questioning my ability to pick a movie, and I was beginning to remember why I hadn't watched it since my Mom made me watch it.
"He's in HEAVEN?! But that's so sad because that means he's... (changes voice to whisper) deaddd. This is a sad movie Mom. For reals".
After Charlie's clock gets rewound and he gets a second chance, B said "I hope charlie doesn't go back to heaven at the end of this movie".
Shit. She's inherited her fathers ability to know the end of the movie within the first 20 minutes.
By the end of the movie, i'm fairly certain her attack plan was almost complete. She was upset, but we talked about Heaven for a bit and she seemed okay. I figured she had completely forgotten by late afternoon.
B: Mommy, that was the saddest movie ever, and I hope I NEVER have to watch it again.
Me: But it wasn't all sad! Anne Marie found a Mommy and Daddy, and she was sooooo happy!
B: Mommy, the dog still DIED. It was soooo sad.
Oops.
Religious talk has definitely led to some confusion and prayers directed at things only a child would pray for.
"I hope Jesus gets rid of all the mosquitos, because they bite for their dinner!"
Sigh. I mean, I suppose you could pray for that, but trying to explain to a 5 year old why prayers are meant for things other than wiping out an entire insect is like talking to a wall. Every thought that crosses her mind is SUPER IMPORTANT and needs to be dealt with immediately. Maybe one day she'll understand, and forgive me for making her watch All Dogs Go To Heaven. Probably not.
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