from the mouths of babes

Debbie's youngest brother's wife's step-mom (since 1979) died last week, and we went to the visitation in Frankton on Thursday evening. John and Lisa have two children, Nicholas and Cassandra, although I've come to find out that we're actually calling her "Casey" now.
I don't recall how old they are, but I'm thinking he is around 7, and she is like 2 or so.

When Debbie and I got to the visitation, we saw Nicholas sitting and rocking in a non-rocking chair, holding his Tigger. We approached him, and Aunt Debbie asked how he was doing. Nicholas immediately told her that "That's Grandma over there, but she's not really there...She's with God."
He continued to explain:
"Grandma was sick, and her heart stopped working, but she's not sick anymore.
She closed her eyes and went to sleep, and when she opened her eyes, she was in Heaven
with Jesus."

John and Lisa clearly had been honestly preparing him for the loss of his Grandma, and he had been listening and taking it all in. On the morning of the visitation, they told him they were going to see her at the funeral home. When they got there, and he saw her body in the casket, he turned to Dad and asked, "Is this Heaven?"
(John wanted to say, "No, this is Iowa", but he resisted.)

Sometimes kids get it, and sometimes they don't. But you have to give them the benefit of equipping them with the truth. They seem to handle it better than we adults can imagine.

As I looked around the room set aside to memorialize Grandma Karen, I saw many family members talking, hugging, crying, reuniting, remembering, and loving on each other.
Loved ones gathered around.

Maybe Nicholas wasn't so far off after all.
Turns out, there was a little bit of Heaven in the funeral home, just like he said.