I had suggested that we build a snowman several times over the past few days, but no one ever seemed interested.
So we have spent most of the time throwing snowballs. It’s hard to top snowball throwing.
But today while I was brushing snowballs off my coat—our younger son has a decent arm and I am not good at hiding in the fort the boys built for me—I noticed that our kindergartener had finally decided it was time to build a snowman.
“Mama,” he said, kneeling in the snow, “do you have any seeds?”
“Seeds?” I said. “I’m not sure I do.”
“You do,” he told me—with the confidence and knowledge that only a 6-year-old who is building a snowman on his own can possess. “You have pumpkin seeds.”
So I went inside and looked. He was right. I had pumpkin seeds and a few cashews. I brought them—and a carrot—outside.
He was pleased with the carrot, which was obviously “Snowshoe’s” nose. Then he very carefully placed the cashews in a plastic container and balanced it on the snowman’s head.
Then he pressed the seeds into the snowman’s face.
“They’re for the birds,” he said. “And the nuts too.”
That’s our boy, always thinking of the little creatures he encounters in the world.
“I love all little animals, Mama,” he said. “Why won’t you let me get a dog?”
Ah. That. So we talked for the 4,973rd time about allergies and why we aren’t getting a dog. We talked about allergies and cats and dogs and what fun pets are but how some people can’t have them. We covered a lot of ground, standing in 2 feet of melting snow in our yard, waiting for the birds to come and eat the food off our little boy’s snowman.
“OK,” he said, as I relaxed. I had obviously handled that well.
Then he smiled sweetly up at me. “But what about a baby bunny?”
Hmm. Well. Let’s start by waving at the birds who stop by to eat our seeds.