The Birds and The Bees

On our way home from school the other day, Ethan -- out of the blue -- asked me, "Do you know how flamingos mate, Mama?"

I didn't really know where this was headed, so I just kept driving and repeated, "Mate?"

Ethan said, "Yeah, mate. You know, when they get married." I hadn't realized I was holding my breath the whole time. Jonathan and I are pretty open minded and everything, but I am pretty sure we would be on the same page about Ethan not being ready to know about flamingos mating. You know, for reals.

"Well," I said slowly, "I'm not sure if I do know."

"Oh, Mama, the boy flamingo dances up to the girl flamingo and starts boppin' its head around her." At this point Ethan started to laugh. "And then the boy flamingo starts singing at her!"

I looked at him through the rear view mirror and Ethan was laughing his little head off while flying a paper airplane around in the backseat. He looked up at me and then said, "What a weird way to get married, but how is that mating?"