After Breakfast Conversation

Today after breakfast Bow took my hand and spelled: "I have time to talk now." I thought that was a little funny, because it seemed to imply that he's so busy the rest of the day that there simply isn't enough time to talk.

"You have time to talk?" I echoed.

 "Yes," he spelled. "I have time to talk to Mommy."

"Well, what do you have to say?"

"That Mommy will not die fast."

"You think that I won't die fast?" I asked. It was not clear what he meant.

He rephrased: "Don't die fast."

"Oh, you're telling me not to die fast."

"Yes."

He has mentioned before that he was worried about that. He has been noticing that I am aging, and he is concerned. There is really no particular cause for concern, but it's true that if I were a chimpanzee in the wild, I'd probably be dead by now, just on account of my age. Bow is extremely dependent on me, and he worries about what will happen to him after I am gone.

I asked him what he thought I should do in order not to die fast. He told me not to eat too much. But as soon as that advice was handed out, he lost all interest in the topic and asked to go outside.

Once there, he got agitated by Brownie's barking, displayed a little, and then went back to the quiet contemplation of nature.