Of Mice and Boys

Love the state fair. The animals, the food, the people-watching, the carnies--love it all. And as a parent, I feel compelled, no, obligated, to instill this love for the fair in my children. So far, they're responding well. I have a well thought out strategy involving plenty of treats (cream puffs) interspersed with interesting things to see (stunt bikers) and rounded out by hands on activities (tilt-a-whirl). I'm building their positive state fair associations slowly but steadily, so that when the time comes for them to strike out on their own they will be able to navigate it well themselves.

Those crazy 4-H kiddos have a small animal barn filled with ducks, bunnies, and chickens. There's a station for playing in soybeans (all fun, and with the benefits of soy), a rooster calling area, and best of all, the baby duck and chick holding pen. My younger son, who is extremely large for his age, absolutely loves this part. I stood back and let them go grab some baby animals, after reminding them to be gentle and wait their turn. There were a lot of kids there peacefully holding teeny fluffy ducks and chicks, and my guys joined right in. It was all going well. Then the littler dude turned to me and very excitedly showed me how he held his chick. I noticed with alarm that the chick was not responding well to his giant meat paw squeezing it so hard its eyes were bulging out. Fortunately a quick thinking 4-H er (and I'm going to say she used both her (H)ead and (H)ands on this one) rescued the chick before it was suffocated by love. She gave him a duck, I presume because ducklings are slightly sturdier than chicklings, but that did not go so well either. The duckling tapped out after like 5 seconds. And seriously, my son had no idea that he was almost a serial killer of tiny baby animals. We moved on to the flavored milk barn.

Lenny was thirsty after all that holdin'.