Today while the older two were wreaking havoc on Canada's educational system, Spawnling and I went outside to enjoy the mild but sunny weather. We searched for the wack-wacks in the ditch to no avail, but we did see a very friendly chickadee, some purple flowers and a big orange tractor which I presumed would be the highlight of our walk. I was wrong; the non-existant wack-wacks to chase disappointed my little demon spawn, so we went back home to swing in the yard.

"We didn't see any ducks today, Spawn, but we did see a lot of other neat things. What was your favourite?" I asked.

"Wack-wack!" replied Spawn.

"So the tractor, then?" I asked hopefully.

"No."

"The... imaginary ducks?"

"Mm-hmm," which is Spawnling for yes.

"Riiight."

He continued to swing for a while as I sipped my free latte (turning in rewards points for coffee gift cards was by far the best decision we ever made, even better than retirement savings. You can't drink retirement savings). The breeze blew gently across my face and ravens in the nest above us cawed. I looked over at the tulips I saved by putting rocks around them just before they were completely trampled by little gremlin feet. A new yard with new perennials for the boys to pummel with sticks and sand toys. I was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude.

"We're so lucky, Spawn. Look at all the nature around us. We're truly blessed to have this home and this yard, and to live in this neighbourhood."

"Weeee!" Spawnling shouted from his swing.

"It's really wonderful. But at the same time I have some guilt, because I know many people on the planet don't have what we have. The level of poverty in third world countries is truly unimaginable. It's almost sickening that we take up so much as a typical middle-class family when others have so little..."

"Mm-hmm. Ball!" agreed Spawnling.

"And you know.. We really have to be careful when it comes to our ecological footprint. I mean, I do what I can but I haven't exactly started composting yet and I've been saying I would for ages. And our fridge is constantly leaking water from the freezer and maybe we should replace it with something more green. Besides, finding soggy cheese is no way to start a morning."

Spawnling began to sing: "Car, car, car..."

"Yep. It's all about responsibility. Like this latte. What am I doing with a latte in a paper cup when I could have brought something reusable from home? And did we really need to drive there? I should think a little more in advance before we go to Fourbucks next time."

"Oooo! Cookie!"

"... Cook?... Oh, right. Your cookie. It's in the van. Do you want it?"

"Mm-hmm! Cookie." I handed the boy his treat and we sat on the front steps. Birds were singing and the sun shone warmly on us.

"I like talking to you, Spawn. Are we friends?"

"No."

As my toddler slowly covered his face with chocolate cookie, I pondered the last few minutes and came to two conclusions:

1. You know you've been a stay-at-home-mom too long when you start discussing ecological responsibility with your eighteen-month-old, and,
2. Like most of the men I've known, Spawnling only wanted to make conversation before I gave up the cookie.