DEAR ABBY: The letter from "Happy Mom in North Caroliona," about her 6-year-old son's reaction to the "facts of life," brought back the memory of my first mother/daughter talk with the second of my four children.
My 7-year-old daughter called me aside one day after school and informed me that she now knew how babies were made. She graphically described what she had heard from her friend, and it was technically correct. I was at a loss for words, so I shrugged and told her, "Yes, that's how babies are conceived."
She gasped, clutched her chest, and said in a disgusted voice, "And you and Daddy did it FOUR times?!"
Abby, I didn't know what to say, but I heard myself tell her, "Well, honey, if you want a baby badly enough, you'll do ANYTHING!"
My little girl thought for a moment, then jumped up from her chair with, "Oh, OK!" and ran outside to play jump-rope with her playmates. End of conversation! -- LOIS HAMILTON
DEAR LOIS: Since she caught you flat-footed, I think you handled the situation very deftly.