Sunday, July 27, 2008

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or Butterflies




I believe the term Marcie used was "giant ball of crank;" well, Duncan had that day yesterday. If someone was not actively engaged in a superlatively exciting activity with him, he whined.  He demanded to be held. He demanded new milk every 10 minutes.  He disobeyed us for entertainment.  At one point, we had to pull the car over (a first) to rescue  his teether.  He liked nothing.  Come to think of it, he was much like an adolescent, minus the being held part and, perhaps, the teether.  For those of you who insist he would never behave this way, again, I have no proof, but you have to trust me.  Around dinner time, the typical time for him to have a melt down if one is coming, he became a completely different child.  He found a train, filled it with a fireman, and entered an imaginative world peopled by Paul, the fireman, and his daycare teacher, Nina.  Thank goodness. 

The highlight of our day of crank was a trip to Rainbow's End Butterfly Farm and Nursery in Wingdale, NY.  We thought it might be interesting for Duncan to "grow" a butterfly.  We were treated to a brief introduction to the life of a butterfly and then taken into a greenhouse full of butterfly-friendly flowers (echinacea, lantana, etc.) and monarch butterflies.  We were given "butterfly lollipops," Q-tips dipped in Gatorade, and taught how to sneak the Q-tip under the butterfly's front legs to entice him/her to pay attention; then the butterfly would unroll its proboscis and feast. I managed to catch several butterflies and was finally successful at handing one over to Duncan who remained still long enough to be in awe.  We bought a chrysalis in a butterfly-friendly cage and are anxiously waiting for it to become a butterfly (Jamie and I are secretly a little afraid it will emerge while we're in Ohio).  I have a feeling we'll be making a few more trips to Rainbow's End (hopefully sans crank) because we have to release this butterfly within twenty-four hours, and I just don't think Duncan will understand that "if you love something set it free" speech.

No comments: