One Foot in the Grave

Part of my responsibilities at the school where I work is to take two boys to the gym to "get rid of some wiggles." One of the little guys, Mr. "J" (I will call him) is always full of fun, compliments, and entertaining conversation. He has been known to hold my hand, tell me, and many other women, in the hall that we're beautiful, he tells me he loves me (how do you handle that one in a public school and be "PC?") and he has even talked of our future betrothal despite the fact I reminded him that I already have a husband and 5 children.

Last week as we were walking down the hall to the gym Mr. J asked me, "When was it that you had your birthday?" I told him it was the 5th. He inquired, "How old did you say you were?" I reminded him (this was not the first time we had this conversation) that I was now 40. Without hesitation and great confidence he proclaimed, "You're going to die." A bit taken aback I pondered how to respond. I said, "Well, we all are going to die sometime." After that came out of my mouth I worried that that might start to snowball in a direction I hadn't intended. Thankfully Mr. J ignored what I said and repeated that I was going to die. I am not sure what was going through his head but apparently to a 6 yr old a 40 yr old woman already has one foot in the grave. Someone call the mortician and make my reservation.