This morning's question from the Dancing Queen as I was brushing my teeth
and trying to get out the door for the school run was "Mummy, how old am I
going to be when Daddy dies?". Now given the circumstances, I must
admit I did not give the question a proper answer. (In fact, I often go to bed
at night feeling guilty for not giving her questions due consideration or the
answers they probably deserve).
But what got me was the need for a definitive answer when in nearly every
other circumstance she has no concept of time whatsoever. She was never the
sort of child you could count down the number of sleeps to a significant
event. To her an hour represents eternity, so don’t even bother
mentioning the concept of days or weeks while months are very much a no-go
area. She can even complain bitterly about a five minute time stretch. I
used to joke that instant gratification was just too slow for my Dancing
Queen.
Yet she loves numbers. At age three she could hardly say the word
"mummy" but she could count to 30 no problems. So why the
mental block when it comes to processing anything that can't be achieved instantaneously?
The other puzzling issue about her sense of timing issue is you just have no
idea of when an event actually occurred. Lots of her stories start with
"last week, back back back when I was little....." by which time you
are already scratching your head going "huh????" The other
night was a classic example. On going to bed she was in tears about an
issue her teacher had raised and very much wanted to help resolve a supposed
problem. However on going to the teacher the next morning, I actually
found out that the conversation in question had taken place ten days earlier
with the problem now well and truly resolved. She just processes things
at a very different speed to us so you are never exactly sure what has been
absorbed let alone digested. Saying that, I have learnt the hard way never
to underestimate her processing abilities.
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