Obesession

Sophie has always been fascinated with deer. Last year I took her "hunting" with me a few times, which involved sitting in the vehicle with a bag of chips, a sippee cup full of tea, and a coloring book and colors to keep her still and quiet. (Well, kinda...as still and quiet as a 2year old can be.) We would repeat over and over to each other 99 times throughout the hunt, "Shhhh. We're looking for deer." She liked to hunt. She felt big.

Even when we weren't hunting, she would come up to me and say in a whisper, "Momma, Guess what? I would say "What?" She would say in a whisper, "I saw a deer." I would say, "Where?" She would respond with, "Guess what?" I would again say what, whispering just like her. She would reply again with, "I saw a deer." That would go on as long as I answered her.

So, recently she was excited to learn that Larry killed a deer with his bow that she had been helping him practice with, but when he got there with it, deer limp across the back of the 4wheeler, tongue hanging out, dripping blood, it was a totally different story. She was scared to death of that deer! She would not even get close to it, wouldn't pet it, wouldn't have any part of it. She wanted out of there. She went in the house and peeked out of the front door window while we cleaned it. She didn't feel better about it until it was gone. The following day, she asked Larry, "How's that deer doing?" Like it was going to be just fine the next day. (Her first lesson in mortality.)

I did cook deer meat a couple of nights after that and was concerned about her not eating it after her traumatic experience. So, I didn't tell her what it was until after dinner. Of course, she loved it, and she didn't seem bothered by the fact that it was that deer Larry brought home that night...dead. She even loves the jerky that I made, which she calls "Deer Turkey" instead of deer jerky.

She is familiar with deer and has had some experiences with deer, even more so here lately. But it seems that it's all she talks about in some form. So, on the way home from church last night the conversation goes like this:

Sophie: I saw a big deer.

Me: You did? When?

Sophie: Tomorrow.

Me: How did you see a big deer tomorrow when tomorrow isn't even here yet? Do you have ESP?

Sophie: No.

Me: Then how did you see the deer?

Sophie: It was knocking on the front door.

Me: Puzzled look, eyebrows squinched... What?

Sophie: The big deer was knocking on the front door like knock, knock, knock.

Me: How was it knocking, with it's feet or horns?

Sophie: Not his horns. He didn't have any horns.

Me: So it was a girl?

Sophie: No. It was a boy.

Sadie: Boy deer have horns. Girl deer don't. So it had to be a girl deer.

Sophie: I know it was a big buck but it didn't have any horns, but it was a boy.

Me: Okay. How do you know that?

Sophie: Because.

Sadie: But HOW?

Sophie: Just Because.

Me: Okay.

I gave up! She cracks me up. I think she is obsessed with deer in every way. I think we have created a monster!