blahblahblah

My middle child is pretty much fearless. Not even a dash of shy, except when I am trying to introduce her to someone. She just began really talking with anyone nearby. Really talking, to anyone. About anything.

It all starts with, "I'm Lauren." If we are grocery shopping and there are busy people bustling around who don't have time to talk, that's where the conversation ends. And then approximately 2 seconds later, as another passerby passes her way, "Hi, I'm Lauren." "I'm Lauren." "I'm Lauren."

If a kind stranger has a moment, they will indulge Lauren with conversation, and as their reward for indulging her, they will learn that she is 4, and will remain 4 for forty more days. That Lauren is spelled L-A-U-R-E-N (this comes in especially when someone has mis-heard her and calls her Lori or Laura). That her baby sister is called Hotdog, or Sprinkles, or sometimes Sasha. That Aubrey is in 2nd grade. That Daddy is at work. That Mommy's name is Rachel. That we have a new cat named Skippyjon. That Daisy finished Lauren's breakfast when Lauren wasn't looking. That Oscar is a fat old cat. That Haley is crazy. That the moon was out this morning with the sun. That this is her new outfit, and that she wore it yesterday and the day before that. That pink is her favorite color and she loves Spiderman. That she has an Ariel puzzle. Oh, and the man in Batman's suit is not Bruce Wayne, but Charlie Lawlson.

It's dizzying. But maybe not, because she is 4, has a bit of a lisp and is missing her two front teeth, so it sounds more like: "blablahblahfourblahblahblahL-A-U-R-E-NblahblahblahHotdogblahblahblahsecondblahblahblahDaddyblah blahblahMommyblahblahblahcatblahblahblahbreakfastblahblahblahfat old catblahblahblahsunblahblahblahoutfitblahblahblahpinkblahblahblah spider manblahblahblahAriel puzzleblahblahblahBatmanblahblahblah."

Hmm, no, it's dizzying either way. Anyway, we went to the park today, and a little boy, maybe 9 years old, thought I looked like the kind of person who would listen and indulge him in his tales. So I learned all about the channel Animal Planet, and all the shows that he loves on that channel, and I got to watch him act out his favorites. And his aunt lives in Deming (where my Tio lives) and do I maybe know a lady that goes by Louisa there? Yes, I do, it sounds like it might be the same one (the one with the baby bison). And he used to have chickens, but they belong in the country, you know, so he doesn't have them anymore, but at the feed store they were selling baby chicks and they were this big, and others were this big. And on and on. He was very sweet, and I'm pretty sure that's how adult strangers view Lauren.