Big Brother

Kiki and her 'This Life' baby brother

Today when I was picking Kiki up from her school, her teacher said, "Does she have an older brother?" And, I said, "No, just a little brother," and I patted George on the belly.
Then her teacher said, "Today she told me she has an older brother, who is bigger than her mommy. And then when I asked her what his name is she got really quiet and said, 'I'm not allowed to talk about it.'"
I gave a funny face, and shook my head, indicating I have no idea what she's talking about, and then said, "Hmm. Thats funny."
It is funny, that her teacher said this to me, because last night I read an excerpt from a book on past lives. The Dalai Lama said there is a lot of evidence of reincarnation based on interviews of children. One bizarre story was of a father who was changing his son's diaper, and the son said, "I remember when I used to change your diapers." The kid would also talk about events in his grandfather's life like they were his personal stories, things that this toddler would not know, one event being how his sister (grandfather's sister) was murdered.
This toddler knew his audience because I imagine saying something like that in a Fundamentalist's household would have ended with him being smothered by pillow. The father was receptive. I also was really impressed by this story because an 18 month old who can speak in complete sentences is somewhat rare, and adding the element of revealing historical family facts, this family must have been on the phone with Geraldo, Jenny Jones, and Oprah before the reincarnation PR committee documented this kid, and then passed the info on to the Dalai Lama. The excerpt had other examples; kids scared of a man coming to shoot them again, or screaming, "I want to go back to my old family." They claim that around six years old children loose memories of past lives.

Kiki had a nightmare last week, and she woke up crying. It was so sad to see her distraught. When I was a kid, and woke up terrified from a nightmare, my mom would say, "Tell me your dream, and then it won't come true." I live by this rule now, and even if I wake up from a bad dream, and its three in the morning, I have to wake up my husband, and barf out whatever nonsense just played out in my brain, before I roll over and go back to bed. He likely snores through my retelling, but it keeps my conscious clear. And because of this belief my mom passed on, I don't ever share the details of good dreams, because that means they will come true, and I have some great things to look forward to.
When I probed Kiki for information on her dream, she said something about toys going to the dump. That day we cleaned out the garage and took a load of crap to the dump, but I also went through her toys and picked a garbage bag of stuff out to bring to donation.
As I was picking through her things, I didn't realize I was traumatizing her. Last night she had a nightmare again, and as she cried, she said, "Someone was throwing my toys away."
After school today, I sat her down and said, "Kiki, remember when I was going through your toys to give some to the women's shelter?" And she looked straight ahead, meaning, "Yeah, I'm listening."
Then I continued, "Well, I'm not giving them away. You can have them back."
And she smiled and jumped on the couch.
Our house is exploding with toys, but I've come to realize that is a good problem. I don't think I will hear either of my kids complain about wanting to go back to their old family.
As for this older brother Kiki told her teacher about, and then turned silent, eerily saying, "I'm not allowed to talk it."
I will first check with her dad, perhaps there is a son out there he doesn't know about.
I don't think I'm going to ask her any questions about this mysterious big brother because if she was told "you're not allowed to talk about it," then I don't want to get her in trouble. There are guidelines to abide by.