Ever since getting back from Texas, the kids have been telling me stories about what happened to them there. One of the most surprising came when we were driving through Lion Country Safari.

“Look! Ostriches!”

“Yep,” I said.

“That’s just like in Texas when we drove through with our cousins.”

They’d already told me about driving through an animal display in Texas, so I just nodded.  The car had something of a funky smell, and I was keeping my inhalations to a minimum.

“Did we tell you about Ben and the ostriches?”

Ben is a cousin, who is a bit older than they are.  “No,” I said. “What happened?”

“Well,” my youngest gestured dramatically with his hands. “While we were watching the ostriches, they started mating.”

“Mating? Really?”

“Yeah!”

“And you watched?”

“Yeah! But then one of the ostriches came over,” he took a deep breath before continuing. “And he started mating with Ben!”

Both boys were laughing now, talking about how amazing it was.

“So, ” I said, trying to keep a straight face. “You had the windows open?”

“Oh no, no. That would have been against the rules.”

Of course. But mating with an ostrich? No worries.