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As we pass each animal he says the words for them followed with their animal sounds. I didn't realize he knew so many of them.
Chicken. Bok bok. Rooster. Doodle-ooo. Goat. Baaaaa.
We move on to the other livestock barns and the reaction is the same with a few variances.
He presses his face against the llama's stall and cries when we move on.
When we see the pigs, he wrinkles his nose and says "yuck".
When we see the horses, he holds onto Daddy's neck and is in quiet awe. He reaches out to pet a friendly horse and we had a hard time pulling him away.
But it was when we passed through the cow barn that I felt the rush of a motherhood moment.
"Cow. Big cow," he says. Followed by a low "moooo". I held him and pointed out the different types of cows, remembering back to when I was little and my grandfather taught me the breeds. For years I used to show my grandparents' cows at the fair, spending summers at their home and learning how to walk, show and care for the animals. I loved those cows, but I equally loved getting to spend time with my grandparents. Those are some of the sweetest times of my childhood and sharing the things I learned from that time with my son was really touching.
It was then that I had one of those parenting moments, when the wonder of being a parent becomes fully obvious. As the hay dust floated in the air and the cow's tails swished back and forth, I had such a moment of awe and awareness about what it means to be a mom.
I had the realization that family is really an endless loop that each successive generation joins into. Generations past and present are united through the sharing of familial rituals and stories and passing of knowledge. It wasn't something I consciously thought at the time, but I keep thinking back to that moment, turning it over in my mind like a pretty seashell and admiring it from different perspectives.
A squirm and a shout brought me out of the reverie and rooted me right back into the present. Leave it to Little Man to remind me not to take life (and parenting) too seriously. He lifted his arm and pointed, screaming at the top of his lungs....
"Poop!!"
Good gravy, I love this boy.
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Adoption viewed from the other side---Dominique Moceanu's story. I haven't really heard much discussion/viewpoint from the siblings involved in adoption. Think I might pick up this Olympic athlete's book to learn more about it. Be sure to watch the 20/20 episode, "The Big Lie" for more.
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Super fun photo essay of old family photos recreated by these sisters. Wonder if my siblings would be up for this? But then again....we'd likely kill one another before it was over. Ha!
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My heart stopped when I read this story about a Chinese adoptee's return to her orphanage.
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For those of you who are Pinterest fans, check out this great set of boards, all about Korea and Seoul.
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And of course, you all know I'm totally addicted to PSY's Gangnam Style song. You can imagine the squeal of delight I let out when I found that PSY released a new version of the song, featuring the ridiculously adorable Hyuna. Watch it HERE:
Oh yeah, and be sure to check out the video about the making of the video HERE:
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