There was an old lady who swallowed a fly...I think she'll expire

In the world of parenting, there are those who believe you should speak at your child's level. There are others who subscribe to the notion that if you bombard your children with enough adult words, they will grow into them. I think the wisdom is somewhere in between.

Since this tragic event in our house, my daughter has been using the word "die" more liberally than I'd like her to. Yesterday, on the way to the car, she fell in the snow with her baby doll. I scooped her up, brushed the snow off her as fast as I could (dang stuff absorbs) and got her to her feet. She cried. "Morgan, why are you crying? Look! You're up! You're all better," I noted. And then she said the "d" word: "My baby fell in the snow and died."

I hate that word. Dan and I are trying to find creative alternatives to such a power-punched word. For instance: We received flowers and some of them are starting to d**. Before I reach that word, I scour my brain for synonyms. "The flowers are fading, Dan. We should throw those away."

I'm torn about whether I should have ever told Morgan about our pregnancy and miscarriage in the first place. I put it in her terms: "Mommy lost the baby" and, later on, "the baby died". I try not to show alarm when she uses this word, but it's rather disconcerting when a young child talks loudly about babies dying. Makes me not want to bring her out in public a while until we have a new word.

On Sunday, Morgan is supposed to sing "Jesus loves the Little Children" in front of the church with several of her friends for a baptism. She just learned the song and I'd love to see my little girl sing it. But so help me, if there is one mention of the "d" word that morning before the service, I am going to withdraw her.

On a ligher note, there is a second reason I would withdraw her and that is because Morgan has taken to practicing this religious song in a "Whitney Houston" fashion. (You remember Whitney- tall, good looking singer, hooked on coke.) Sometimes Morgan closes her eyes as she sings it into her Veggie Tales karaoke machine. And sometimes she tilts her head back. And on rare occasions, she even has a falsetto. T'ain't pretty. I'm desperately afraid that it's going to be "Morgan Spotlight Hour" instead of "Baby Jacob's Precious Baptism Moment". I told Dan that if rehearsal bombs, I'm taking my American Idol off the podium. I think I'd d**.