Noooooooooo!!!!! Surely not. Woman feels completely out of her comfort zone. Eeekkk! A ferret......they smell and they bite! No. I cannot, will not....no, no, no, definitely no ferrets!
So this is the latest in a long string of dilemmas that I am having to deal with. It's not easy living with a boy whom constantly challenges my squeamishness, my moral and dietary values. From his final mutterings of the evening to the first comprehensible chit chat of the morning, talk is of dens and hunting. How? Why? Living in a girly, caring and compassionate, vegetarian household, you would imagine that the boy may be somewhat influenced and toe-the-line, but this is not the case - in fact, the situation is quite the reverse.
This morning, I had hoped that the boy would do a little school work before trundling off into the wilderness that is his world, but no...I stand witness to the army gear being adorned and am asked promptly to venture out into the cold to view the latest den, complete with pizza oven! Hey! I have to say it's pretty good. I'm incredibly impressed with the creativity that I witness. The boy joins me on a morning dog walk but not empty handed. I am to hear and witness the latest bow and arrow creation as it is put through the rigours of testing. The poor dog scuttles from the undergrowth only to have the string pulled until taught and the arrow aimed at her unsuspecting head. Lucky for the dog that the boy doesn't release the arrow but realises ahead of time that the dog is in fact not the monk jack that he would like her to be. We talk of pheasants and plucking them and roasting them on the fire as well as the potential butchering of said deer WHEN he catches one. It is beyond me. It is tempting to prevent and put a stop to this interest but quashing the spirit of the child would kill his soul; the very light that is his driving force. Instead I continue to reside in an environment that supports and nurtures, where help and advice are at hand, where country pursuits are a way of life - I rejoice and celebrate the boy that I have bore and the man that he will one day become.
Oooh! Here is is again....."Mum, can I have a potato...and some foil?" "Yes of course, I'll get you a little one". "No, a big one!".....Hmmmm! It must be lunch time :-)
