Conversation over Chow

Poor Ian had to work in Fresno yesterday. In fact, he had to work in Fresno until 7 pm. So Lucas and I were on our own for the evening, while daddy drove back home in the rain.

Lucas has been playing “Cowgirl” a lot lately. He has a stuffed rocking horse that he recently named Lily. He has a string into which I have tied a loop to make a lasso. He has a cowgirl hat from Cattlemen’s that Papa gave him. And just a few days ago, Lucas was given a western shirt that’s red with black chest panels, embroidered horse heads, and white fringe. Lily and Lucas have been riding the range a lot; if Lucas gets that pony rocking, he can actually travel all over the house without ever dismounting from his faithful steed. Together, they take care of their herd of two cows, one of which is named Pretty. The other cow is named Not Pretty.

Well, last night, Lucas hitched Lily up to the chuck wagon and we sat down to supper. But not before he fed Lily some hay.

“Lily eats a whole wagon of hay. She can eat even more than an elephant. Even 100 hays!”

“Is the sun going down?”
“Yes”
“Why?”
“Because the sun goes down every night and comes up every morning.”
“What if the sun didn’t come up?”
“Well, the world would change.”
“Oh. How?”
“Without the sun there would be no plants on earth. And that means there would be no animals.”
“Oh.”
“And without the plants and the animals, there would be no people. So the sun is very important.”
“If there was no sun it would be dark all the time, like space.”
“Right. Like space.”
“Would there still be rockets?”

“One day, me and Tidoo saw a very strange thing: a salmon driving an airplane, and a sharky driving a car!”

“One day, me and Tidoo had soup and soup and soup and soup. She loves soup. One day, I cooked her soup and she even eats soup for breakfast. And for a treat after she eats soup, she gets donuts. And ice cream. Tidoo eats mostly healthy foods.”

“One day, me and Tidoo had noodles and raviolis and french fries for dinner. And after dinner, we had donuts and ice cream and vanilla chocolate sticks. And flavor water. And it was a big whole party!”

“A rodeo is where the cowboys and cowgirls take their ponies and their cows for training. Is it dirty at a rodeo?”
“Yes, I think so. Dirty, dusty, and maybe even muddy,” I replied.
“No Mom, rodeos are only in summer so there’s no mud, only dust.”

“Did you know horses like soup? They do. I have seen a horse eat soup.”

“One day, I went on a walk by myself without Tidoo. Tidoo was sick and you guys stayed with her in her bed. I got to do the cow work and go to the rodeo. I just checked out my credit card, but the rodeo was closing. The people were still there. I went there to get my credit card because I left it there last night. And I rode my pony at the rodeo. The thing is, ponies can knock you off. They can!”

“At rodeos, horses usually eat oats, barley, beans, um… hay, apples, but not carrots. If you feed a horse a carrot, it will get sick.”
“Actually, I think horses really like carrots,” I offered.
“Tomorrow, I think I will go back to the rodeo. If it’s open, I think I’ll ride my pony there. You know, there’s lots of ponies at rodeos.”

“What if people didn’t love me?” Lucas wondered.
“Everyone loves you,” I said.
“Even you and dad?”
“Especially me and dad.”
“But what if people didn’t love me?”
“Well, I can’t even imagine that. You have so many friends and people love you so much.”
“You are the best mommy ever. … I just want to give soft little loves to your nipples.”

4 Responses to “Conversation over Chow”

  • pirategrrl
    April 6, 2006 at 3:55 am

    I bet Lucas would be interested to hear about cattle trains that transport cattle and horses. It would combine his long time love of trains with his new interest in western stuff.

    Reply

  • sarabellae
    April 6, 2006 at 11:41 am

    That is a great idea! I’ll go looking for picture books. Thanks!

    Reply

  • grlfury
    April 6, 2006 at 3:07 pm

    sounds like a trip to the state fair rodeo is in order. Do we know anyone who still has horses?

    Reply

  • Alica
    October 24, 2011 at 1:20 pm

    Stumbled on your web blog through Reddit. You know I am subscribing to your feed.

    Reply

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  • About Sara

    Thanks for visiting! I’m Sara, editor and writer, wife to Ian, and mother of two precious boys. I am living each day to the fullest and with as much grace, creativity, and patience as I can muster. This is where I write about living, loving, and engaging fully in family life and the world around me. I let my hair down here. I learn new skills here. I strive to be a better human being here. And I tell the truth.

    Our children attend Waldorf school and we are enriching our home and family life with plenty of Waldorf-inspired festivals, crafts, and stories.

    © 2003–2018 Please do not use my photographs or text without my permission.

    “Love doesn’t just sit there like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.” —Ursula K. LeGuinn

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