Little Girl

She came to me after our nightly Family Prayer. She was in tears.
“What is bothering you?” I asked.
“This boy at school just called me Little Girl!!!!!!!” Her words were nearly unintelligible.
“Tell me more about it,” I prodded.
“I was just trying to be his friend and we were at recess and it was my turn to go down the slide and he said…” her voice was mounting, “Go ahead, LITTLE GIIIIIIRL.”
Her sobs were slowing freely, tears coursing down her now-tanned cheeks.
“And that makes you sad because you aren’t little?” I asked, a little more than lost.
“NO! I was trying so hard to be his friend and he didn’t even say ‘LACY’ he just said ‘LITTLE GIRL’ and that makes me saaaaaaaaaaaad.”
Oh!
He didn’t know her NAME. That made her sad. She was reaching out to him and he didn’t even know her name.
“He didn’t know your name?”
“No, even though Kelly was trying to tell him.”
“I understand you feel sad,” I said, “It does feel bad when people don’t remember us or our names.”
“Yeah,” her sobs were calming down.
“What is his name?” I asked.
“I dunno,” she shrugged.

Oh, ho. Lacy Gayle. I hope you never know how hard Mommy was laughing when you were sobbing in her shoulder.

“You should just tell him your name at school tomorrow,” I said.
“NO! I’m so very scared about that!”
“Why?” I asked.
“His face is strange.”

Oh, HO! LACY GAYLE!

This reminded me of a few weeks ago when she was begging me to please give her rides to and from school and not let her take the bus.
“Okay,” I said, “We can do that…” I only signed her up to ride the bus because it was what LACY wanted, “But why?”
“I always think about Blue (the dead parakeet) on the bus.”
I’ve since learned that “thinking about Blue” is always code for something else bothering her. Even last night, when I first asked her what was wrong her told me, “I was thinking about Blue!” When I pressed her, the whole “Little Girl” story came out.
“What else makes you feel bad about the bus?” I asked.
“There’s this ugly boy on it, and he says ‘hi’ to me all the time!”

LACY GAYLE.

There’s only one of you. Darn it.