The Dreaded Question

"Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees/ And the flowers and the trees/ And the moon up above/ And a thing called love." - "The Birds and the Bees" by Jewel Akens

Oh boy. It finally happened. I had been bracing myself for this quesion for a couple of years now, and yesterday Alana asked it. "Where do babies come from?" I told her that was a very good question, and it was something she needed to talk to her mom about. She looked at me very seriously and said, "Why? Don't you know?" Um, yeah. I went on to say that yes, I do know where babies come from, but that is something that her mom would explain to her. She went on eating her lunch, and I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that maybe, just maybe, the child with a thousand questions a day would drop this topic of conversation. I was wrong.

Alana wanted to know why a baby grows in a mommy's tummy, so I told her that that is the way God made mommies tummies, so a baby can grow in there if she wants to have one. I figured I was okay with that answer, and maybe it would satisfy the four-year-old's curiosity for a little while. Like until 6:00 when her mom got home. Once again, I was wrong.

She looked at me, threw her arms up in the arm (always dramatic!) and exclaimed, "How does a baby even get in there?!" No way was I touching that question! As a professional, I make it a point never to cross the "Mommy Line", an invisible line that separates nanny from parent. It's very hard at times since I have been taking care of Riley and Alana for nearly five years and spend a lot of time with them, but some things are just not in my jurisdiction. What will she come up with next?!