I’m sad is one of Piper’s favorite new phrases. It’s both a declaration of emotion and a conversation starter. It’s also startling for a Piper to be bouncing about in a rainbow tutu, smiling her bright smile, and declare her sadness. You have to brace yourself.
The morning after my birthday, Piper declared her latest sadness.
“I’m sad.”
“Why, honey?”
“I’m sad because of your birthday.”
“My birthday? We had a nice time on my birthday.”
“It made me sad. You’re getting old.”
“Well, I’m not that old. I feel pretty good. We all get older. It’s part of life.”
“Yes, but I’m sad because you’re old and you’ll die.”
“True. Someday. But not anytime soon. I don’t think we have to worry about it for awhile.”
“Okay. I’ll save my sadness until then.”
And on that cheery note, Piper skipped out of the room.
piperism 
Whoa. She’s tapping into some deep stuff right there. Good thing she was in the tutu.
Exactly. Tutus make everything a bit lighter. It’s hard to talk about serious stuff when you’re wearing hot pink tulle.
I wonder what made her think of this. Heavy thought for a little kid.
It was heavy. She’s at that age where death seems so abstract. They had grandparent’s day at her school last week. Most kids in her class have a grandparent who has died, but Piper has four healthy grandparents who are very involved in her life. I don’t think it occurred to her until then that her situation wasn’t the norm.