Ellie, Can You Fly?
…Spoken by big brother Michael James, of course. I should have known this phrase would lead to tears, but it was kinda one of those lessons you just have to see play out. Like you just want to pull up a chair, grab some popcorn and a beer, and watch the race-car collision for reality entertainment, all the while thinking, “These people are so stupid! Do people like this really exist? What kind of idiots do this stupid stuff?” And then you snap back to reality, “Oh, I’m not watching America’s Funniest Home Videos or Fear Factor – those idiots are MY CHILDREN…I guess I should intervene….uh-oh…too late!”
It was bedtime, and instead of calming down with lights dimmed, and rocking to soothing music in the rocking chair, my kids were testing out their “birdy” wings off of the wicker dress-up trunk in Ellie’s room. I can’t really blame them…we had just said goodnight to the birds at the bird bath looking out Ellie’s window, we’ve been reading “The Best Nest,” and Michael James really does have such great ideas! (Like just a few minutes before this incident, I saw him standing naked at the bathroom sink next to Ellie, tooth-pasted toothbrush in hand, brushing his penis. And little adoring sister of course saw the genius in this action, and as they say, genius loves company! But Mommy stepped in just in time to upset that bandwagon.)
But as for the flying, who hasn’t tested this skill at some point during childhood? I was in 5th grade, and I had just finished reading a chapter book about some boy who could fly, so I truly believed I could (or thought if I believed hard enough I could make it so). I nearly killed myself trying to prove it off of the swings one day at recess, and the teachers did not appreciate me giving flying “lessons” to my innocent classmates.
Back in Ellie’s room, it was actually going pretty well, and the little birds were having fun taking turns landing on the carpet until Ellie’s little wing got smashed by brother’s foot. All the birds recovered, and they both and slept soundly in their nests. And I think the answer to brother’s existential question was “no”, but I’m sure they’ll try their luck another day. And someday…when they do manage to successfully “fly away”, I hope they’ll come back often to visit Mommy and Daddy bird, thinking, “I love my house, I love my nest, in all the world this nest is best!”
Lowry Manders is a Dallas mom of 2 young children, a Kindermusik teacher, a child development expert, creator/ presenter of “Parent with Purpose” and “Teach with Intention” seminars and blogger/ writer.
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