“Do Animals Cry?”
You always wonder when the day will come that your toddler starts to ask questions about life and death. Due in part to my research and workings in the paranormal, we often talk about, and even to, our dead loved ones often. Stellan, my eldest, has always talked to animals, drawn animals and rainbows and even started hugging trees on our walks together in summertime. He is aware of life all around him and even had a phase where he was afraid to walk because he might kill a bug; a Buddhist at heart.
Declan on the other hand, is our young boy-boy, deviant and mischievous. He will bolt towards the nearest squeal from Stellan in hopes of stomping out some bug. They are different.
While cutting up beef tips for homemade stew, Declan the sous chef was asking the house what kind of animal came from beef. Stellan chimed in that beef came from a cow.
“Do cows cry, mom? Are they crying right now as you cut that?” Stellan asked.
“No, sweetheart. I’m sure the cows cry when they realize they are facing impending death but I also hope cows have more peace than I. They cry for a moment and then the butcher prepares the meat for us to be sustained. That is why we ask that you clean your plate, so the cow doesn’t die in vain.” I tried to be honest.
He looked at me, slightly puzzled, “I don’t think all creatures cry mom, Morti (the cat) doesn’t cry. All he does is hiss at me, though dad said he saw him cry once. Do you think cats cry?” Stellan again was deep in thought about what animals cried, why they cried and why he hadn’t seen his own cat crying tears when his dad had clearly said it was true. We went over animals, domesticated and wild, big and small and agreed that all living things have feelings and can cry, physical or not, but that most find peace in their purpose. He then turned and asked me a question I wasn’t quite prepared for, “Mom, do ghosts cry?”
I thought long and hard about what my own life experiences and beliefs would have me saying to my almost five year old and I paused. “I don’t think ghosts cry, because they don’t have the physical body to do so, but I think they still feel sadness and have to find other ways to express it.” It sounded so easy but yet made complete sense. My five year old smiled, understood and we had met the end of the day’s questioning.
I’m proud.
