Goose-aphobia

Last week, we spent a delightfully cool and pleasant morning at the park.

Wait, go back. Read that again. (Please?)

Last week, we spent a delightfully cool and pleasant morning at the park.

Did you catch it this time?

This is Texas.

In the summer.

Most days are hot and sticky, about as far from cool and pleasant as possible. Weather that doesn't leave you dripping en route from the house to the car is but a distant dream.

But every once in a while dreams come true, and one day last week dawned 30 degrees cooler than usual. It was almost chilly - ohhhh, the delight!

Of course we packed up and went to the park. What other choice did I have? I knew a storm was headed this way and I was playing a dangerous game, but there was no way I was going to pass up weather like that.

So, off we went to Towne Lake - a park full of memories from my own childhood.



My little pigtailed girl was only too happy to climb and slide and be scrumptiously adorable.



She almost perfected the art of climbing up the slide, too (something that's normally not allowed, but the park was deserted that day. Apparently we were the only ones brave enough/stupid enough to disregard the darkening sky).



Twenty minutes of energetic playing later, I made a grave tactical error. I suggested stopping by the ducks and geese on a walk around the pond. At the time this seemed to be a reasonable idea - even a good idea - but I was wrong. So very, very wrong.

A goose hissed at Nadia.

And my child was was immediately reduced into a quivering, shrieking puddle of tears.

I have never before seen Nadia this utterly and totally terrified. She was beyond coherent speech. I can't emphasise enough her level of terror.



Let's put it this way: when Nadia one day questions why she has a lifelong fear of geese and goes into a full blown panic attack at their mere mention, I will know what to say.

The geese and I traumatized her. Bad geese! Bad Mommy too?



My little sidekick clung clung to me. Had she been able to crawl up inside of me, I have no doubt that she would have done so. Poor kid! Every time a goose came within 200 feet of us, the terror returned.



Even back at the relative safety of the playground, Nadia kept a wary eye on those darn geese. Oh the fearful glances she flashed towards water's edge! It was time to call it a day - our "fun" outing had turned decidedly not fun!



And it was perfect timing. Within seconds of being safely buckled into the car, before we'd even backed out of the parking space - the rain came. It started as a gentle shower of fat raindrops, but before long the windshield wipers were at their highest speed.



A delightfully cool morning at the park, followed by a delightfully sudden summer downpour.

It was a good morning.

Minus the geese.