Where are we Going?

Charlotte and I have a little game. She asks "Where we goween?" and I say "CRAZY!" and wave my arms around my head like a maniac and sometimes I add a little chase in for good measure. She shrieks as she runs away on her sturdy little legs, hair flying, giggles and shouts trailing her. She could play this game over and over and over, amused by the attention of my response to her query and the potential for a chase as only a child can be.


The game came about honestly enough, as one of Charlotte favorite questions is "Where we goween?". We don't actually have to be getting ready to head out the door for her to ask, she just wonders this aloud a few times a day. Perhaps she is destined to be a philosopher.


One day, when I was tired and feeling a bit frustrated she came up to me and asked in her sweet 2 1/2 year old's voice, eyes wide with love, trust and wonder, "Where we goween?" I looked at her and said with a sigh, "Crazy". She laughed her head off, thinking that my feeling sorry for myself was just a hoot and a half. Her laughter lightened my mood, her smile like helium, raising my spirits. So, when she asked again in a teasing tone, I said "CRAZY!" like a euphoric nutcase and waving my arms all about, I chased her around the living room, hooting all the way. Thus, a tradition was born.


Happily, Charlotte will never be aware of the melancholy that gave rise to her treasured game. All she will remember will be her kooky mommy, chasing her around the house, laughing along with her own squeals of delight. That is as it should be.