Sunny's Reaction

After school, my husband took him out for pizza as a special treat. When he got home we had the talk. We all sat down on the floor. I reminded him that he would always have Mommy __ in his heart. I told him a very sad thing just happened. I reminded him she'd been very sick. She got better for a while but then she got sick again, and she died this morning. I said that according to his foster mom, Mommy __ is an angel in Heaven now. It's not my belief, but it's the one he's most familiar with. Then I reminded him that Mommy __ loved him very much.

Sunny hung his head and seemed to just... deflate. He needed a lot of hugging from us but he didn't cry, even though we told him it was okay to. My dad came in, and he told my dad, "Ojiichan, I have some very sad news, Mommy __ just died."

I said again that she was very sick and that there was nothing anyone could do... sometimes people just get sick and they don't get better. Then I said there was some happy news too: he had a little brother. We hope his little brother can come live with us, but whether he does or not, he just gained another person in his family. Sunny asked if his grandmother there was OK (I've read that children that age feel death is contagious). We went through all the people he knew back in his home state and I told him they were OK. We went through all the people he still had, including me and Guy and the dog. He was smiling and laughing at that point. Then he asked to go out and ride his bike with dad.

Still deciding about the funeral.