A Reason to Celebrate

At bedtime, the kids usually each pick out one book for their dad to read to them before they go to sleep.  Tonight, Christian said he wanted me to pick out his book.  My eye fell on Where The Wild Things Are, and since today would have been Maurice Sendak's 85th birthday, I thought it was the perfect choice.  It is one of the kids' favorite books, and so they were very pleased.  I, being a bit of a nerd, saw it as an opportunity for a literary lesson.  I explained that the book had been written and illustrated by a man named Maurice Sendak.  We talked about the difference between an author and an illustrator, and that, although he had passed away, today would have been Maurice Sendak's birthday.  I could see that Tes was thinking very hard about something.  After a moment, she looked at me and said "But if he died then he doesn't have any more birthdays."  Nick and I smiled, and said that although he wouldn't get any older, today would always be his birthday.  She mulled that over, and then having come to a satisfactory conclusion, said "So even though he isn't here, we can still celebrate him on his birthday.  Right?"  We agreed, and Nick read them the book.  Sometimes I am blown away by how well my four year old can handle such complicated concepts.  She is so beautifully thoughtful, and I am blessed to witness that thoughtfulness.