the zoo

The boys took a trip to the zoo this week.  I had the following conversation with Alex later that night.

Me: "Did you see the baby lions at the zoo?"
Alex: "Yes."
Me: "How many baby lions did you see?"
Alex: "Four.  And we saw the Daddy lion too." (it was actually the Mom that was with the babies)
Me: "Really?"
Alex: "Yep.  Mommy not there today."
Me: "Oh.  Where was the Mommy lion?"
Alex: "At work.  She be home later to play with them."

I might be thinking too much into such a simple conversation.  But this quick exchange made me so proud of my son on so many levels.  (And I realize others could think different about the conversation).  It demonstrates, to me, that Alex is fully aware that the majority of families have both a Mommy and a Daddy.  We talk about this often.  Both of boys already talk about being a Daddy some day.  They also talk about getting married, mostly with the idea of being able to wear a wedding ring, but neither ever discusses marriage with context associated the sex of the individual they would like to marry.  They are too young.  Our exchange also demonstrated to me that Alex has the understanding that the male of the household can be the main caregiver for a family while the female of the household can be the breadwinner.  I'm going to pretend that's what it all means and simply be proud of Alex for a few moments.  

Mary