The questions continue...

dd: who was the first person who died? Oh, of course we don't know that because we weren't there. And if we'd been there and been the first person who died then we wouldn't know because we'd have died. We'd be dead.

me: Well unless you were dying slowly and knew you were dying and knew noone else had died before you.

dd: Hmmm. It's confusing to me - like standing in an upside down house and thinking you're the right way up.


dd also wanted to know what the largest number was. Dh gave her some explanation about googles etc., but she didn't seem entirely satisfied. Then I realised that she'd been playing with the calculator and actually wanted to know what the biggest number on the calculator was. As she added away, I tried to explain why the numbers stopped getting bigger and now had a 10 at the end (to the power of 10). She gave me that cutting, patronising look that only girls seem to be able to give.

So, conclusions from all this(apart from A level maths being a pointless addition to my academic pile of paper)? I'm wondering if she is undergoing some huge growth spurt or developmental leap. Her conversations and questions continue. At the same time she's been very weepy recently, unsure of herself, clingy. It's almost as if she's suddenly discovered that the solid ground (belief system?) that she was standing is actually rather shaky. And the questions are perhaps to reassure her, get a fix on where she is, what the world is about. Well I don't know any other way to explain it.

With the boys there was a definite transition between those exhausting years of aggression and destruction and hyperactivity between age 2-6 (think large clumsy labradors), and the sudden ability to sit down and concentrate at 7+ (think slightly bouncy terrier). Perhaps this is the girl equivalent? Either way, it's probably good she's home educated. Otherwise she'd be driving some poor teacher demented right now!