Chicken

During Spring Break, the kids and I spent the day at a friend’s house. And by house I mean farm with horses, zebras, peacocks, longhorns, and chickens. Like the roles farm-visitors have played for centuries, our family fit the city kids stereotype perfectly. Our hosts (the farm kids) were patient when my kids complained their feet hurt. They laughed when the city kids scrunched up their noses at all the poop.

And the farm kids helped these city kids hold chickens.

When it was the twins’ turn, Sam grabbed the bird like it was a stuffed animal, cuddling it against his body heat until it stopped squaking. But holding that nervous bird was too scary for Elisabeth. No matter how much she tried, she just could not cuddle the hen. Its scratching feet, fluttering wings, and chicken-ness of it freaked her out. Obvious by the picture, the more she struggled, the more the hen struggled against her.

The whole ordeal of the worried hen worrying Elisabeth nicely illustrated why farm kids call scared city kids “chicken.” No one called Elisabeth that because she really was to trying to tame the chicken. But by the time she was brave enough to really snuggle the bird, it was unconsolable.  In the end, this was the best picture I got of my city girl with the chicken.

When it comes to the unknown, Sam and Elisabeth always show the two sides of bravery. Sam rides the bike, swims to the deep end, talks to the strangers, and holds the chicken because he doesn’t think about the consequences that might come from any of it.

Elisabeth, on the other hand, can only see the dangers. She can imagine screaming in the deep end with no grown-up to save her; she can imagine that chicken going ballistic and scratching up her face. She has conquered her fear of bike-riding (woohoo), but she still dreads falling the whole time she rides.

I can relate to her cautiousness. My dreams and goals are filled with chickens I want to tame, but I’m way too aware of the list of “what ifs.” Does this make me responsible or a coward? Wise or a chicken?

After the Chicken Episode, our family toured the farm some more. The farm kids demonstrated the zip line for the city kids. They gave our city slickers an up close view of the zebras. They even let our kids try the bareback of a Shetland Pony.

Elisabeth, who reported to me all the potential dangers of this day, did it all. Even with her wisdom, she summoned up deep courage.

Which is maybe the lesson here. Bravery is a process. I may not be able to tame all the chickens in my life, but I can learn enough bravery to ride some ponies.