Do I Have "Sucker" Written on My Forehead? -OR- This MIght Blow Up In My Face

Landon calls me at work. At 2:30. Every day.

Last week he called and asked if he could go to a farm located at ____ with his friends. And buy a duck. For a pet.

I said, "No freaking way!" (This was not hard.)

Yesterday Landon called and said, "___'s other ducks are picking on this one, and his mom is afraid they will kill the duckling. Can we take the duck for two weeks till it gets bigger?"

Big hesitation. "No!"

"One week, Mom?"

Another hesitation. Bigger.

Here is what is going through my mind: My mother HATES rodents. But when I was in 1st grade she let me bring home the class guinea pig for the weekend. Many times. We fed it lots of lettuce. I cleaned the cage (taking the rodent OUT of the cage) every day. Should I let Landon bring home a duck? What would my mom do? Is this a fight worth having? Is there a lesson in this? This is a gamble. Maybe he'll find out that it's a bigger pain than it's worth. And he'll leave me alone about getting another pet. OR maybe he'll fall in love with this duck, and we'll have tears and fighting and begging to keep the duck. Mean, mean mom? Take a chance? What if the dog eats the duck? Decisions, decisions...

"The duck MUST go home Friday immediately after school."

"OK! Thanks, Mom!"

So there is a duckling at our house. Cheeping. All. The. Time. Bella is a nervous wreck. She wanders the house all day long. And all night long. Landon is pulling his hair out. The cheeping is making him crazy. It's making me crazy. It's making everyone else crazy. The duck has to occasionally go outside to play. But the wind is blowing ME away--where will it take a duckling? Which is already in danger of being dog-eaten?

When I got home this afternoon I asked Landon if he'd had the duck out of the box today. He rolled his eyes. He said he had been outside with it for a while. And he said that since this is spring break weekend, and there is no school on Thursday or Friday, the duck is going back to his friend's right after school tomorrow.

Whew! Dodged that bullet!