After I'd visited the library the other day, my daughter came running into the living room proud that she'd gotten a heavy, thick, "grownup" book off the stack and managed to carry it into the living room. According to Amazon, it weighs nearly 3.5 pounds. A 450 page coffee table book with glossy photos that took all her strength to bring to me. She snuggled with me in the chair, smile on her face, and demanded I read it with her. Which, in her speak, means we flip the pages and she asks me about the images and wants me to tell her a little about the content of something daddy is interested in.
This book was Adam Danforth's Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering.
I managed to not be quite ready to settle down yet and went, amused, to share with The Mama what I saw as a funny tale. The Mama was less thrilled. Something along the lines of, "you're not going to read her that, are you?" We're all for raising farm kids who know how the world really works and a no-nonsense motto about knowing where your food comes from. But she wanted me to think carefully...and she had a point.
I went back to the living room and gently slipped the book away to put it in the bedroom where the kids aren't allowed to go. Instantly, my daughter's face turned angry and she began to scream a hurt, sad cry that I'd not only taken away a "big girl" book she was so proud to have but also a cherished daddy-daughter moment. I had books home about sheep (living) and bees which I was happy to read with her. But her curious, insisting question was about that book. Why not that one?
It was one of those parent-child moments that catches me off guard because it comes out of nowhere and you're forced to quickly come up with a legit answer that isn't a lie and manages to tell the truth in a way a 3 year old can understand. Very much like when my son asked in the car after school how babies grow inside mommies. In this case, I made up the easiest truth I could think of...there were photos in the book that we were afraid she would be scared of or confused by. And when she got older I'd be happy to sit with her and read it. You could instantly see the new goal on her face of growing up to be old enough.
Old enough to read a book about livestock slaughter with her dad.
I couldn't be prouder. And, by the way, the book is amazing. I'm not sure I'm into the whole "butcher-your-own idea." Simply for ease and letting someone else specialize. But it was enough to let me know what's involved if I should ever change my mind.
This book was Adam Danforth's Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering.
I managed to not be quite ready to settle down yet and went, amused, to share with The Mama what I saw as a funny tale. The Mama was less thrilled. Something along the lines of, "you're not going to read her that, are you?" We're all for raising farm kids who know how the world really works and a no-nonsense motto about knowing where your food comes from. But she wanted me to think carefully...and she had a point.
I went back to the living room and gently slipped the book away to put it in the bedroom where the kids aren't allowed to go. Instantly, my daughter's face turned angry and she began to scream a hurt, sad cry that I'd not only taken away a "big girl" book she was so proud to have but also a cherished daddy-daughter moment. I had books home about sheep (living) and bees which I was happy to read with her. But her curious, insisting question was about that book. Why not that one?
It was one of those parent-child moments that catches me off guard because it comes out of nowhere and you're forced to quickly come up with a legit answer that isn't a lie and manages to tell the truth in a way a 3 year old can understand. Very much like when my son asked in the car after school how babies grow inside mommies. In this case, I made up the easiest truth I could think of...there were photos in the book that we were afraid she would be scared of or confused by. And when she got older I'd be happy to sit with her and read it. You could instantly see the new goal on her face of growing up to be old enough.
Old enough to read a book about livestock slaughter with her dad.
I couldn't be prouder. And, by the way, the book is amazing. I'm not sure I'm into the whole "butcher-your-own idea." Simply for ease and letting someone else specialize. But it was enough to let me know what's involved if I should ever change my mind.