Last night at dinner, someone (I won't mention any names),
said something that really upset Lottie.
She jumped down from her chair and ran into the hall closet.
I gave her about five minutes of alone time
and then knocked on the door.
"Go away, Mom" Lottie yelled.
"Oh, but Lottie," I whispered. "I want to talk to you."
About thirty seconds later, Lottie slowly opened the door handle.
Inside the closet were a few pillows she had dragged in to sit on.
"What are you doing in here?" I asked.
"This is my house," she told me quietly.
"Can I come in?" I asked.
Her hands gestured to me to come into the tiny coat closet.
I sat down and crossed my legs then Lottie plopped down on them.
Then I began to tell her a story.
"Once upon a time, there was a boy.
This boy was strong and handsome and fell in love with a girl.
This girl loved this boy more than anything in the world, so they married.
After they married, the girl turned into a mama,
and the boy turned into a daddy because the mama had a baby girl!
The baby girl was darling, always happy, and had black hair and brown eyes."
Lottie was staring at me intently.
"Then, after this baby was still pretty little, guess what!?
The mama and the daddy decided to have another baby,
and this baby was another girl who came out with orange hair!"
"Like me?" Lottie interrupted.
"Yes, like you, but she had the bluest eyes you'd ever seen."
"Like Jane?" she questioned.
"Yes! Just like Jane, and she was adorable and fat too!
These little girls were best friends.
Then one day, the daddy and the mama and their
two daughters moved far, far away.
They said goodbye to their families and drove a big truck to a new world.
And they were happy because they were together.
The daddy worked hard, and the mama made good dinners,
took the little baby girls for walks, and did fun projects together.
Everyone was really happy.
Then one day, the mama had another baby!"
"Another one?!" Lottie asked me, still very engaged in the story.
"Yep, another one, except this time it was a BOY!
He had brownish hair and blue eyes."
Lottie stopped me and said, "Wait, that's like Oliver."
"Yes, you are right." I continued.
"Then it was time for the family to move somewhere else,
so they packed up their house and drove far, far away to another land.
This land was really hot, and it always felt like Summer.
And guess what, the mama had another baby!!"
Lottie threw her hands up in the air.
"It was another baby boy, and he had yellow hair, chubby cheeks,
and big brown eyes!"
Then Lottie told me, "This Mommy must really like babies."
"Yes, she does! She really loves babies and children! I agreed, nodding my head.
"Anyway, then one day something really sad happened
the daddy and mama got into an accident and got very hurt and were really sick.
The mama slept for a long time like Princess Aurora.
It was really sad, and the mama's babies missed her so much.
The family was broken, and it took a long time for them to get better.
"Kind of like you and Dad?" Lottie asked.
"Yes, exactly like that, but the mama and daddy got much better and
when the mama was almost all better, guess what happened?"
I waited for Lottie to tell me what was going to happen next and
instead, she sat up and said;
"WHAT?"
I began slowly, "Well, this mama and this daddy had another baby girl!!!
She was so beautiful, and the mama cried and cried and thanked God
that He blessed her with another baby even after she was so sick."
"What did her hair look like, Mom?" Lottie yelled.
"Well, it was orange just like yours, and guess what else,
this baby girl had gorgeous brown eyes, just like you."
Lottie smiled and said to me.
"What did they name this baby?"
Then in the closet, I held her close to my chest, and tears dripped out of my
eyes as I told her that the daddy and the mama
who loved each other so very much named this baby Charlotte.
"Wait, like me, Mom!" Lottie screamed.
"I know! Charlotte, do you want to hear something very special?
This story I told you is true, and the little baby named Charlotte is you."
I could see the light bulb going off in her head right there in the closet
and she giggled and said,
"I already know that story, Mom!
I like that story, but why are your eyes sweating?"
"Because I love you so much, and sometimes when you love something
sooooo much it makes you cry."
