the perfect storm of quirkiness

Last night was terrific. The twins were in a good mood, everyone had their homework done with minimal freak-outs, no one complained about leftover pasta for dinner, all children were bathed well before bedtime. We even had pie for dessert, right before the girls were off to bed.

Let me say that Cha is at the point where she's fascinated with death. Not in a completely morbid, detail-oriented way, just kind of run-of-the-mill-everyone-will-die-even-me way. Louisa is very sensitive. She will get choked up about anything which isn't all rainbows and unicorns. And Bebe just wants to fix everything and keep everyone on an even keel. With that in mind, this was the conversation I had last night:

[The twins are finishing their pie and I'm straightening up the kitchen. Cha comes out of the bathroom where she's finished brushing her teeth.]

Cha: Mama, when I die, will you come to my funeral?
Me: Sweetie, usually children live longer than their parents. Probably your own children will go to your funeral.
Lou: Can we not talk about this? It makes me cry! [She starts to get choked up.]
Cha: But if I die before you, Mama, will you come to my funeral?
Me: Honey, you're upsetting Louisa. Let's talk about this tomorrow when the big girls are at school.
[Louisa is now sobbing. Bebe gets up and goes over to Charlotte.]
Bebe: [whispering] Charlotte, I will come to your funeral, OK? Let's go to the bedroom and let Sissy finish her dessert and I'll read you a book.

I was trying very hard not to laugh. Which is very mean of me, but come on! "Will you come to my funeral?" What is she, a 16 year old goth girl? And I have empathy for Louisa's sensitivity because I can be that way myself. But. I've seen her get worked up in exactly the same way because we're out of Key Lime yogurt. And Bebe trying to make everything all better! I thought I would die over the whispering, but promising to go to Charlotte's funeral just struck me as funny. Also, removing the sister who won't get a clue is classic Bebe -- if she'd tried to comfort Louisa, it would have all ended very badly.

God, I love them. But they are very, very quirky.