Be Mine

Taylor takes his dinosaurs very seriously.
He has become a collector of sorts... possibly even a hoarder.

It has gotten to the point where we cannot enter a bookstore or library without him pleading for "just one more" prehistoric encyclopedia. I think we have about five nearly identical tomes resting comfortably on his bedside table at this very moment. I have learned more about our Cretaceous companions in the past couple of months than I ever thought I would learn in my lifetime. Although I suppose when you're living with a future paleontologist, you're bound to pick up a few new tidbits here and there.

"Hey, Mom! Why does this Velociraptor have feathers and this one doesn't?"
"Hey, Mom! Is this a T-Rex or an Allosaurus? Oh wait... This one has 3 fingers, not 2. Never mind! It's an Allosaurus!"
"Hey, Mom! Did you know the Microraptor has four wings and lives in a tree?"
"Hey, Mom! Do you know what my new favorite species is? Dilophosaurus!"

When I was his age I might have been able to identify a T-Rex. Possibly.

So for Valentine's Day this year, I surprised Taylor by getting him some store-bought holographic dinosaur valentine cards. As expected, they were a huge hit.

Until he realized that the entire point of the valentines was to give them away.

"But, Moooooooommmmm," he loudly objected, "I don't want to give them away! I want to keep them with my other dinosaur things!"

It took a lot of persuasion to get him to relinquish his unyielding hold, but eventually we talked him into a compromise. Since he had more dinosaur valentines than classmates, he would be able to choose which ones he wanted to give away, and which ones he could keep. He decided to keep all the T-Rex cards for himself. (And I have to admit, with the 3-D gnashing of teeth-- they were pretty dang cool.) The day of his class Valentine's party, he happily set off to share with his friends.

When I arrived to pick him up from school, he was beaming. As he skipped out the door with his arms laden with the paper and candy spoils of his party, I asked him how his friends liked the dinosaur valentines.

"They were so cool, Mom! I gave Alex an Allosaurus. And Julio an Ankylosaurus."

"That's great, Taylor!" I encouraged, "I'm glad that you were able to share with your friends."

"And guess what, Mom?" He looked at me with a sly, lopsided grin. "I gave Taylyn a T-Rex valentine."

"Wow, buddy." I suppressed a chuckle as I buckled him in his booster seat. "You must really like her."

Taylor breathed a deep sigh.

"Yeah, Mom. She's my special friend."
Well, imagine that.

There just may be more to life than dinosaurs after all.