Every evening I tell K made up stories as she goes to sleep.

Sometimes we talk about things she might do as she gets older; get a tattoo when she’s a 102; or we’ll sing song, be a dentist or a hygienist.

Last night I found myself telling her stories of how our animals came into our lives.

Our cat Willow got her name when she was found under a willow tree in Pagosa Springs Colorado by her First Mom. (birth mom just didn’t seem to be correct here).

Her First Mom, Mommy Sue, nurtured and loved her for a long time but then just couldn’t care for her any longer and so she called me.

Will you be Mommy to Willow?

(Can you see where this is going folks?)

Ani, our Labrador – Golden Retriever mix (who has a jet black silky coat) had two other moms before coming to live with us. A first Mommy and a second Mommy but then Ani came to visit and wanted to stay with us. We changed her name from Anisette (she had been named by named by a chef by second Daddy), and welcomed her into our home.

Zeb, our Shepard Lab mix then had a little sister.

Although all of this is true, I worried that Ani could choose where to live and her parents would give her up so easily.

Ani: I want to go live in the mountains and have an older brother.

Second Mommy: Ok then, off you go. Have a nice life.

Would K wonder if she could choose and go live somewhere else? Should I worry about Ani choosing to come live with us?

Naa. She's only two almost three. I don’t think K really got that deeper meanings in all the stories, but I’m sure she understood the first mommy stuff.

And then we have a third doggie in our home right now that we are ‘fostering’ while his parents are wine tasting in Italy. He’s been here for almost three weeks already and K understands that his parents are coming to get him soon.

What great lessons. What a great dialog! I should have thought of it before!