Actual conversation from bedtime tonight

L: Mom, can two girls get married?

Me: Depends on where you live, sweetie.

L: What do you mean?

Me: Remember how we talked about how people believe different things sometimes? Well, some people believe that girls should only marry boys, and some people believe that two girls or two boys can get married. The government is in charge of saying whether people are allowed to get married, and each state has its own government. The government in each state figures out what the people who live there believe, and that's the law. So in some states, girls can marry girls, and in some states, girls can only marry boys.

L: What about here?

Me: Well, in our state, a lot of people believe that girls should only marry boys, so that's the law here.

L: So I have to move if I want to marry Leah when I grow up?

Me: Remember how we talked about how sometimes what people believe changes, and laws get changed? Like when we read that story about slaves last week? Well, maybe before you're grown up, people here will change their minds about who can get married. You never know.

L: So it's okay if I want to marry a girl?

Me: Honey, as long as you love the person very, very much, and they love you very, very much, I don't care who you marry. Now go to sleep.

(pause)

L: Can grandmas and grandpas have babies?

Me: Depends on how old they are. When women get older, the parts that make babies stop working, and then they wouldn't be able to have any more babies.

L: What about Grandma?

Me: Nope, she's not going to have any more babies.

L: When will you be a grandma?

Me: When you have babies ... but that's not until you're all grown up.

L: Will I have babies when I'm a grown up?

Me: You probably can, if you want to. And if your body can't make the babies, you could adopt one, if you wanted.

L: But what if I don't want any babies? Then you wouldn't be a grandma?

Me: That's right, I wouldn't be a grandma. But that's okay, too - it's your decision whether you want to have babies. I'm fine with just you - you're perfect as you are. Now go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow - we're meeting Miss Judy at the coffee shop.

L: Miss Judy, the rocket scientist **?

Me: Yep, that's the one. Sleep well, little girl.

Add that to her earlier request for me to explain exactly what a tampon is and what it does and what the little string is for and what if you can't reach the string, and it's been a fuuuuuuun day. (That sound you hear is me banging my head on my desk repeatedly, in case you were wondering)

**That's how she differentiates Miss Judy, my knitting buddy who works at NASA, from Miss Judy, the mother of one of her friends from dance class last year.