Another conversation with Mariel
Patrick really should come home earlier.  He is missing some great dinner conversations. 
Last night, Mariel asked me where water comes from.  Not sure quite sure how to explain the molecular structure of water to a 4 year old, I hemmed and hawed a bit.  She stopped me.  "No Mom, I mean where does it come from?  To get into the house?"  OK, on to civil engineering.  I talked about the water pipes in the city, and water supply systems and how in places where there are not too many people there are usually wells instead. 
"So here we have pipes, but Grandma and Papa don't have pipes to bring them water to their house?"  She asked. 
"Right.  They have a well." 
"That's because too many people are dead in New York,"  she proclaimed with confidence. 
"Ummm... what?  I mean there are not as many people who live there."  I said this and realized that my wording  probably confirmed her theory.
"Right.  Because they died.  See, Mom, its this way." She started drawing imaginary lines to form a map on the dining room table with her hands. "Over here are the dead people.  Over here is where Grandma and Papa live.  So they are alive but the other people are not.  And they don't need water since they are dead, so Grandma and Papa have a well."
At this point I am really not sure of what to say, so I let her keep going.
"And up here, Mom?"  Waving her hands over her head, then pointing back to the invisible map.  "Up here is heaven.  God is up here.  God does not need water either, so he does not have a well or pipes."
Obviously.