rest

Evan is really into wearing the black three-piece suit we bought him for this summer's weddings. Tonight, as bedtime approached, I came into the living room and found him lying on the floor in his suit with a quarter over one of his eyes. Needless to say, I found this a rather unsettling sight, and told Evan so, and then I had to explain why:

Evan: "Why did they put coins over their eyes?"

Eric: "I think it was to weigh down their eyelids. Dead people's eyes tend to slide open, I think. So they'd weigh them down with coins."

Evan: "Where did they get the coins?"

Eric: "They just had them around."

Evan: "Why didn't they want their eyes to slide open?"

Eric: "Because that would look sort of strange and creepy."

Evan: "Why does it matter how dead people look? They're underground."

Eric: "They did it when the person had just passed away and hadn't been buried yet."

Evan: "Why do dead people's eyes tend to slide open?"

Eric: "I don't know."

Evan: "Why does it look sort of strange and creepy?"

Eric: "It looks like the person is still alive."

Evan: "But that's a good thing."

The whole conversation had me feeling somewhat self-conscious about my parenting skills. But then I remembered Miriam, the extremely down-to-earth child psychologist and parent of two from down the street, who once said that if you're ever stuck at home with the kids and desperately in need of some rest, you should "play funeral."