Do I need more adult company??

My other half thinks so. He bases this observation on the fact that I had a 20 minute conversation with two Jehovahs witnesses who came to the door on Thursday, and I actually seemed to enjoy it. They came at a good time. We'd just got in from a walk, the baby was asleep and Holly was playing happily, so when someone asked me what I felt about the way mankind was treating the world, and what we should be doing about it, I actually thought about it.

I expressed my views, I asked them theirs and we discussed the issue. They presented their evidence, backed up with a number of quotes from the bible, and I played devil's advocate and asked some tricky, slightly risky questions.

Ok, so I could have phoned a friend, but just because my kids are having a good moment, doesn't mean my friend's are. When was the last time you had a twenty minute, uninterrupted two way adult conversation?? Also Holly has an inbuilt mummy's on the phone monitoring system which switches her into horror mode as soon as she realises I'm talking to someone else, and not her. So, I had my twenty minute adult conversation with the Jehovah's witnesses.

And you know what? I'd love to be as calm and self assured and confident in my beliefs as these two ladies were. But it just isn't going to happen. My logical mind can't quite get it's head around one faith/religion/ denomination being right, and all others having just missed the point somewhere along the way.

I believe in God. I say a little prayer for my two babies before I go to sleep (and I have recently added the other half in 'cause he felt left out). I don't often think much beyond that, mainly because it opens up too many unanswerable questions.

My partner and I have discussed how we would explain death to Holly and Mikey, not because we have had to deal with a berievement, but because we want to be prepared. My Thursday discussion actually gave me an answer I quite like. The Jehovah's witnesses believe that when you die, you return to the earth, to dust. But God retains a memory of you. It's one to think about...

Religion has also come up alongside the school debate. Where should we send Holly to school? Should we look at the Catholic school system, although we are not Catholic? Should we consider a Christian school, or should we go with the state schools? It's a tricky one. I liked the caring environment of our local Catholic school and I would like the children to have the basic ethical and moral education that seems to come in a religious school. We don't take them to church, but perhaps they should be given the education that allows them to make their own informed decision about their religious beliefs as they get older.

Yet at the back of my mind I just feel hypocritical. You see, if I had the conviction of those Jehovah's witnesses, life would be easy!

Back to Thursday. Holly came down and started trying to shut the door on us, then the cat started nosing round the shopping bags left in the pushchair. When they offered to help bring my shopping in, I declined politely and we terminated the conversation. It's one thing having an interesting debate with a couple of commited strangers, it's another letting them into your house. And my guess is they'll be back.