The Dinosaurs Are Dead

A couple of weeks ago, I had the FUNNIEST conversation with Caleb, and I've been meaning to get it typed up ever since then. It went something like this:

Caleb: Mommy, are there any dinosaurs at the zoo?
Mommy: No, Caleb, there are no dinosaurs anywhere. All of the dinosaurs are dead.
Caleb: (in total and complete shock) ALL OF THE DINOSAURS ARE DEAD!!?? WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM???
Mommy: Well, they died a long, long time ago, before people were even alive.
Caleb: How did they die?
Mommy: I think they ran out of food. Some people believe that a big meteorite, which is a giant rock, fell out of the sky and destroyed a lot of the things that dinosaurs eat. So the dinosaurs ran out of food and they all died.
Caleb: Oh, no. That is awful.
Mommy: Well, it is sad, but there are lots of other animals that God made that are still alive.
Caleb: Which ones are still alive? Are the dolphins dead? Are the whales dead? What about the elephants? I never saw any of those animals...are they all dead, too?

I laughed out loud at this line of questioning, but at the same time, I completely understand where he was coming from. The dinosaurs he saw in books were as real to him as the dolphins and the elephants. It must have been quite a shock to hear that a whole group of animals exists only in pictures. We got it all straightened out eventually, but Caleb mentioned his sadness about the dinosaurs a couple more times over the next few days.