Be Careful What You Tell Your Children . . .

We have lots of birds, squirrels and bunnies in our neighborhood. Matthew loves to watch them and often runs after them, trying to grab them. Fortunately for the animals, they have quicker reflexes than a three year old and always escape.

I have tried to explain to Matthew why he can't hold the wild animals. I tell him that they don't want to be held, they have their own homes to go to, they are busy gathering food for the winter . . . All of these excuses do not seem to pacify Matthew's desire to hold the birdie, squirrel or bunny. So one day, a few weeks ago, when he asked for the 100th time why he can't hold the bird in our yard, I responded in frustration: "No, you can't do that he's a live bird, he will literally rip your face off." (Which, if you know your pop culture trivia, is a take off of a line from Anchorman where the guy wants to interview a wild animal.)

Anyway, today when we got out of the car, there was a bird in the neighbor's yard. Immediately, Matthew spotted it and wanted to go hold it. I told him, "No, you can't hold the bird." To which he responded, "Why? Because it will rip my face off?"