Musings from Mom

What is it with birds and this family? In case you missed it my post about the buzzard is priceless. And now this....

A few days ago the boys were outside playing in the yard. I was inside getting things straight to make dinner. Remember, we live in the woods, down a private drive so I feel comfortable letting them stay outside on their own for short periods of time. Anyhow. They were actually within my sight in the back yard smacking down weeds with sticks. It's a favorite past time for both.

I'm busy putting dishes away when I hear footsteps on the deck steps. I look over and see C coming up the steps holding something by two fingers and yelling "Momma. Momma! Mooooommmmaaaaa!"

I went to the door hesitantly because I had no idea what the child could be holding. As I got closer it came in to focus and I realized it's a dead bird. Ah geez... Where in the world did he find a dead bird?

"Hey Momma. We found something," C says through the door. Realizing it was a bird I flung open the sliding door and started ranting. "Put that down! Where'd you find it? Don't pick up dead animals! That's gross! Yuck! Put that down!"

C stands there staring at me and finally realizes that amongst the jumbled ranting I was telling him to put it down. He turns and flings it off the deck so it lands in the middle of the back yard. Great. The woods would have been my first choice of disposal areas.

I continue to lecture and explain to him that there is no reason for him to pick up a dead animal. Why in the world would anyone want to????

Minutes later the kids are back in the yard hitting weeds and I'm thinking to myself how gross that kid is! He is afraid of nothing!

I have to laugh because in hindsight it was quite comical. I mean, some kids come home with rocks and frogs and bugs. My kid? Dead birds.

(The next afternoon I found out why the bird was even dead in the first place. My husband told me that when he was watching football on Sunday afternoon he heard something whack the back window. The poor little bird had ran himself into the big arch window above the back door and broken his neck. There are still a few feathers stuck to the outside of the window to prove it. At least I know he was not carrying Avian flu or West Nile Virus.... geesh.)