It was easier when my wife was alive until a year ago. Children have such a way of looking at the world where everything is so simple and uncomplicated, even death. But I miss my wife all the time. These feelings are even worse when the kids are around, because SHE used to be the one with all the clever answers to their questions. She was a fiery ol’ gal, and would really take me to task. Sure, we fought all the time, but it was more in good humor than anything else.
     I knew she had the temper of a redhead from the day I met her. “Go to hell!” she yelled, on our very first date, when I disagreed about something she said. It would be a phrase that she would repeat frequently in our 42 years together, and even the grandkids couldn’t help laughing when she dismissed something I said with that famous phrase of hers.

     A few days ago my grandson came up to me to show me some of the bugs he had caught in my backyard. Unfortunately, some of the poor creatures had undergone a terrible ordeal in the process of being captured and were almost dead. Steven was a little upset by the fluttering little bugs, desperate for life.
     “Grandpa, why are they dying? I just wanted to catch a few so I could have them as pets.” Here I was, trying to comprehend death myself, but with the tough job of explaining it to a child.

     "Well, you know, there's still a few of them left. I don't think you meant to harm them, " I tried to console him.
     “But do you think they’ll go to heaven when they die?”
     “Of course they will go to heaven, I’m sure.”
     Then came a more serious question.
     “Is Grandma in heaven?”
     “Yes, she is.”
     “Well don’t you miss her then?”
     “I do, but you know when it’s time for me to go, I’ll meet her up there."
     “Are you sure she’ll want you there?”
     This took me off guard. “Why you say that?”
     “Cause every time she was around she used to always say ‘go to hell,’ so maybe she wants you to go there instead?”
     I looked at my grandson, and for the first time in a very long time, laughed until there were tears rolling down my face.