I'm worried about Kate. She is showing a tendency to over-think things to the point of frightening herself (and me!), and asks questions that are too deep and complex for a 5-year-old. I know she's smart, but this goes beyond intelligence into something I don't understand. Example: dialog while we were crossing a parking lot the other day:

Kate: "Is that car coming to hit us?"
Me: "No sweetheart, it's just coming in our direction but it won't hit us"
Kate: "What if it hits us?"
Me: "It won't, it's far away"
Kate: "But what if it comes faster?"
Me: "We will move out of the way"
Kate: "What if we don't move out of the way fast enough and it hits us?"

She is like a chess player trying to evaluate and understand all possibilities (mostly negative ones). Then, there are the questions I have trouble answering, like a couple of nights ago:

Kate: "Momma, do we ever know ourselves?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Kate: "How do we know who we are?"
Me: "We learn about the type of person we are as we grow up and have experiences"
Kate: "But do we ever really know who we are? Do you know who you are?"

or, when she was spending a weekend away with the grandparents and asked "Are we really here? Is this real? How do we know it's real?"

That's the stuff they never tell you about when you're planning to have a child.:: Jade @ 8:19 AM