Generation A

Recent conversation with eight-year old daughter in car, her sitting in the back, me driving:

D: Mommy, do you believe in ghosts?
M: Slight pause. Do you mean ghosts or spirits?
D: Mommy, I mean ghosts. I know there are spirits!
M: Sigh. Yes, I believe in ghosts and spirits.
D: How do you know?
M: Because mommy talks to them.
D: Really?! I hear them!
A: What do you hear? Do you know what they are saying?
D: I don't know what they're saying. Well, I hear what no one else does. Like this. I hear, "(daughter's name)." And, I'm going, "Huh? Wha?"
A: Next time, ask them who they are and what they want. (Mom thinking to herself, am I really having this conversation?!)

Yesterday's conversation with daughter in car, her sitting in back, me driving:

D: Mommy, my friend at camp can see spirits. And I know they're there. I can go into their world.
M: Oh yeah? What's it like?
D: Kind of like here. And they sing, kind of like this (daughter makes high pitched sounds). They have their own language and they talk in English.
M: Oh, really. (In a matter of fact, this is a completely normal conversation kind of way.)

This is not the first I've heard my daughter refer to other worldliness. She has said of one of her dearest friends that their imaginary worlds are connected. "We share the same imaginary world and Mom, our hearts are connected."

Who talks like this?! Tell me, I'm not the only parent out there dealing with this. I don't remember talking this way when I was a kid, do you?! When we were growing up, this kind of talk was just us kids being imaginative and creative. But this seems different. I don't know exactly what generation we're up to X, Y, Z whatever, but these young ones are AWARE and AWAKE. Never mind tech savvy, computer literate, mature for their age, etc.... And, we have to raise them?! Yikes.

Seriously, though. Our children are going to need help understanding the world around them and by around, I mean ALL around. When my daughter first showed signs of "awareness," I kept quiet, wondering how much I would share about my own experiences and when would be the right time. But, as her interest in the topic continued, I decided to be more open, mainly to let her know it is okay, and that she is not alone.

We can listen. We can accept. And we can help our children hone their skills by sharpening our own. Yes, we can do this!!