My kids are nerds. There--it's out there on the table. Nerds. You need to understand that I do not at all feel that it's a bad thing. It's just a true thing. See, we go to lots of museums. And historical whatnots. And places where there's not a whole lot to do other than read signs about things are a) dead b) about to be dead c) extinct or at least d) very old. And we like it. All of us--even Sydney. Sydney who has (on her good days) the attention span of a hummingbird after his morning espresso. She oohs, ahhs, and manages to keep up and stay interested as Colin stops to read EVERY. BLESSED. SIGN. along the way.
Yesterday, we went to a place called Plimoth Plantation. Well--you can read it for yourself. www.plimoth.org There. Check it out. Anyhow...cliff notes? It's a re-creation of a 1627 English farming village in the middle of the Wampanoag homeland. You are able to visit not only the settlement, but also the native's village. It is SO COOL. (See--told ya we're nerds) Colin has been doing the whole Mayflower/Pilgrims thing in class, so a trip seemed like a great idea. He was able to really get a handle on how things worked back in 1620 and Thanksgiving and the Mayflower and all of the rest of it really came alive for him. There are "residents" along the way, and I've gotta tell you...they literally will NOT break character. You could walk up and stick a wet finger in their ear, and their little British accents & Olde English chatter wouldn't skip a beat.
Colin had many great questions, and did a great job of stepping right up and articulating them. He asked about how the boys learned to hunt, where the children would have gone to school (they didn't then--he thought that was cool), and how church worked.
Sydney? Ah, Sydney. First, she was absolutely mortified that the Natives had no pants on, Mom! No pants! Not for nothing, but I was really trying as hard as I could to see what was going on there under the little flap of cloth, because REALLY? I was looking at bare butt---one stiff wind, and I can't believe I wouldn't have seen things I would've had to later confess to Eric. Anyhow--I digress.
Once she got over the pants-less-ness of it all, we moved over to the English settlement. She noticed after visiting a few little houses that everyone seemed to have a clay pot under their beds. She thought it was funny that they ate in bed, and then I had to gently break the word chamberpot to her. Grimace. Giggles. More giggles. And sure enough---she raised her little hand, said "excuse me" and proceeded to fire off "where do you guys empty your potty-pots?". Without hesitation, Little Miss Pilgrim went into a far-too-detailed explanation of the "community dung pile". Thanks, lady, for that.
And then? She told us how they actually SAVED the urine, put it in a large whiskey barrel, let it ferment, and then it turned to lye--which was used to make soap. HA! If you think that Sydney did not fall onto that dirt floor right then & there when she found out that they were washing their hands with PEE SOAP...you'd be incorrect.
We then went over to the waterfront and toured a replica of the original Mayflower. Again, the kids were enthralled. Sydney was a little loud in her protestation that this ship wasn't actually going to TAKE us anywhere...but she was still into it. Colin asked another great question of the navigator, and got to sit with him and learn how all of the tools worked on the boat. Good stuff.
Overall, it was a great day. I think we all learned a little something. I would imagine you did, too. I mean...don't even ACT like you knew you could make soap outta pee?!!!
Another great day. Love being Mom to these guys.
