ohbloodyhell8

It was not quite cold, more like room temperature.  It felt sponge-like, but not rough.  It was a smooth sponge.  It was actually a stingray.  It felt like underbelly.  My oldest son loved touching the stingrays, sharks, and starfish.  That’s what he spent most of his time doing at the aquarium yesterday during the field trip.  He also hung out with his group some of the time, but our little science boy wants to do the hands-on stuff as much as possible, even if it means going solo.

My dad came with us.  We usually call him Bearpaw (family nickname mixed with grandpa).  Yesterday, however, my eight year old son told us to call him “Grandfather” in front of his friends.  Grandfather?  Really?  Well, later in the day, one of his classmates told him what she calls her grandfather and he realized that Bearpaw wasn’t so out of the realm of normal.

I love watching my son when he’s in his zone.  Anything science and he comes alive like no other time.  His eyes focus on the animal and he absorbs the sounds and smells.  I can picture him all grown up spending his days with fossils, digging in the dirt, his glasses sliding down his nose, dirt all over his face arms, legs, and clothes.  Actually, it’s easy to picture this because this is how he looks during the summer in our backyard on his quest for a hadrosaur fossil.

I’m tempted to get a few fossils and bury them in the backyard just to see the look on his face.  I don’t because then I know he would dig even deeper.  Then, I’d have to get a permit.