The Friday before our baby chicks were scheduled to hatch my 3 year old helped me assemble our brooder. He was excited about getting the chicks and ran to the brooder throughout the day to peep inside. Each time he walked away sad that there weren't any chicks yet. On Saturday I took the boys to the pet shop to pick up water bottles and pet bedding. When we got home my 3 year old happily helped me attach the water bottles and declared that everything was ready. I explained to him that the chicks would be mailed to us when it was time. He listened for the mail truck and ran to the window whenever he heard a car, shouting that the chickens were here, only to walk away disappointed. On Sunday after church he ran to the mailbox to see if the chickens had come while we were out. I explained that the post office is closed on Sundays. By Monday he was a mess of anticipation. We received our text message saying that the chicks had been shipped and we could expect them within the next 3 days. We also got an email with basic chick care instructions. As I was reading our instructions to my engaged 3 year old, the doorbell rang with our postman outside. My son flew through the house and stared hard out the window, then he yelped with delight that our chickens had finally made it! The postman handed my son a plain brown box with a picture of a chicken on it, which he promptly dropped. "Oh no my chickens!!!" Sorry sweet boy, but this is a box of chicken food, not a box of baby chicks. On Tuesday we made the chicken "lemonade" as our booklet described and placed the bedding in the brooder. The 3 year old took great care to cover everything with paper towels so the chicks would have a "comfy bed". We pulled the heat lamp out of its box, gathered the extension cord, and filled the feeder with chick starter. I was taking pictures of our empty nest when my phone rang. The chicks had arrived! My three year old was bouncing with excitement, his face was beaming. We picked up big brother from school and went to the post office. The wait was over!
This post is part of 31 Days- a writing challenge and third in my baby chick series!