Farmer Robby

Yesterday morning I woke up to the sounds of Robby softly serenading Charlie Cat with his rendition of "Old McRobby Had a Farm." Knowing that he was excited about his field trip, I decided to keep with the farm theme by preparing him a "farmer's breakfast" of waffles, bacon, apple crisp and milk. He happily munched away, and I was delighted because I suspected that once the field trip commenced, the chances of Robby eating his lunch were slim to none!

As promised, I followed the bus of eager first graders to the highly anticipated "Corn and Cows Farm." All of the kids looked adorable in their matching field trip t-shirts. Although they were all dressed the same, it wasn't hard to pick out my little guy. He is at least a head taller than everybody else in his class.

Robby and I have been going to petting zoos and visiting various farms since he was in a stroller. Although I planned most of these adventures, it wasn't until yesterday that I realized the wealth of experiences he has gained. His classmates were mesmerized as many of them had never seen a cow nor had they been on a hay ride. Robby enjoyed the time with his friends, but none of these encounters were novel.

Not only has Robby had significant exposure to agriculture, I have to give myself a pat on the back for teaching him a thing or two. During the butter making class, Robby not only knew what would be made by shaking heavy cream, but  also offered that it is "really super yummy on homemade bread, which has to be kneaded a long time." The butter instructor seemed surprised when he continued to explain how to flavor the butter with various herbs and spices.

When the farmer asked the students to guess what is produced the most at a dairy farm, every little boy and girl answered milk. The farmer was about to go into his lecture when Robby piped up and offered the correct answer-manure. Apparently Robby thwarted the farmer's speech because he was silent on the hayride for about 3 minutes when he pointed to the manure sprayers and explained that the odoriferous byproduct was used to help plants grow.

During the final session, when everybody was going over everything that they learned on the trip, I felt myself beaming with parental pride. While I was proud of his behavior, I was also proud of all of the experiences we created for him during the past six years. Seeing the great wealth of experiences he brought to the field trip, I couldn't help but congratulate myself for a parenting job well done!

Basking in my parenting accomplishments, I was eager to hear Robby's contribution to his classes recap of the field trip. I leaned forward and prepared myself to be wowed by his take on the farm. He stood up, looked at the farmer and Miss Lauren (his teacher) and excitedly exclaimed, "This farm is f*cking awesome."

So much for my good mom vibes!