After Gus and I picked Elise up from pre-school the other day, we decided to head to the bagel shop for lunch. We ate our chocolate chip bagels at the duck pond and enjoyed the weather; then Elise found a little egg in the grass under a tree. We concluded that it had fallen out of its nest and she decided its mother was probably a robin in our backyard. "Don't you think we better take it home?" After having a "mom moment" wondering about potential issues with this, I said, "Yes."
Just then, the local trolley came by and we made a quick decision to hop on for a ride around town. The wind was in our hair as we waved and smiled at people along the downtown loop. Gus cheered and Elise chatted until... "SPLAT!" The trolley had stopped quickly and the little egg was crushed when Elise grabbed the back of the seat. Instantly there were tears and "Where is the bird? Mommy, it is just goo!" I cleaned the sticky mess off her hands and explained that the bird hadn't started to grow. She calmed down and a smile returned as the trolley made its way back.
We exited the trolley at the local science museum and the driver gave a "ding-ding." Life was back on track again. Elise immediately decided we needed to visit the biggest little fountain in town while Gus said, "Bye Trolley" about twelve times. Elise was splashing her hands in the 5-foot fountain when she saw a grasshopper in the water. "Oh No! OH NO!!" She scooped him quickly like a professional animal rescuer and rested him on the edge. "Mom, is he okay? Oh, he is moving! He just needs to dry." After a few minutes examining him, I said, "Time to go." just as Mr. Grasshopper jumped back into the fountain. "AHHHH! MOMMY!!" And there was yet another rescue! This time he jumped off the edge and onto the ground as Gus walked by. In a blink of an eye, Elise saved the little insect from his second drowning and Gus' curiosity overtook him -- he grabbed Mr. Grasshopper...SQUISH! You should have heard the screams this time. "NOOOOOO!!!" But it was too late...Gus got to him. Elise's attempt to save nature was lost again. She sobbed as we walked across the street to the hardware store with her beloved grasshopper cupped in her hands. There she asked the manager for a box for her grasshopper and she told him about her mean brother. We climbed in the van with much sadness.
When we returned home, Gus took his nap and Elise picked flowers for her lost bug. It rested in peace as we talked about death and whether grasshoppers can be angels. She told me we needed to keep him in his box until Maddie got home from school and then "he will be done being dead."
Just then, the local trolley came by and we made a quick decision to hop on for a ride around town. The wind was in our hair as we waved and smiled at people along the downtown loop. Gus cheered and Elise chatted until... "SPLAT!" The trolley had stopped quickly and the little egg was crushed when Elise grabbed the back of the seat. Instantly there were tears and "Where is the bird? Mommy, it is just goo!" I cleaned the sticky mess off her hands and explained that the bird hadn't started to grow. She calmed down and a smile returned as the trolley made its way back.
We exited the trolley at the local science museum and the driver gave a "ding-ding." Life was back on track again. Elise immediately decided we needed to visit the biggest little fountain in town while Gus said, "Bye Trolley" about twelve times. Elise was splashing her hands in the 5-foot fountain when she saw a grasshopper in the water. "Oh No! OH NO!!" She scooped him quickly like a professional animal rescuer and rested him on the edge. "Mom, is he okay? Oh, he is moving! He just needs to dry." After a few minutes examining him, I said, "Time to go." just as Mr. Grasshopper jumped back into the fountain. "AHHHH! MOMMY!!" And there was yet another rescue! This time he jumped off the edge and onto the ground as Gus walked by. In a blink of an eye, Elise saved the little insect from his second drowning and Gus' curiosity overtook him -- he grabbed Mr. Grasshopper...SQUISH! You should have heard the screams this time. "NOOOOOO!!!" But it was too late...Gus got to him. Elise's attempt to save nature was lost again. She sobbed as we walked across the street to the hardware store with her beloved grasshopper cupped in her hands. There she asked the manager for a box for her grasshopper and she told him about her mean brother. We climbed in the van with much sadness.
When we returned home, Gus took his nap and Elise picked flowers for her lost bug. It rested in peace as we talked about death and whether grasshoppers can be angels. She told me we needed to keep him in his box until Maddie got home from school and then "he will be done being dead."
She let him go in the yard today as she said, "Now he can watch over me as I play." Eric and I have been talking about the meaning of life and life after death. Do grasshoppers and almost baby birds become angels and watch over us? Maybe our kids know more about this stuff then we do... Or maybe we just need to teach Gus how to look with his eye, not touch with his hands.
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