Just Ducky

Aunt Sali sent Solomon this duck onsie. He wore it on March 1 as well as today. It’s so amazing to compare the two babies, nearly 3 months apart.

The story of Peep Peep

Aunt Sali has a thing for ducks. When I was five years old, she presented me with a duckling for Easter. I’m not sure that she asked my parents first, but how’s a mom or dad going to say no once the fuzzy yellow bird is there? You can’t see it in the photo, but Aunt Sali’s in the background. Smirking. I carried Peep Peep around on a paper towel to catch his ducky dookie. The other thing memorable about that Easter was the dress my mom made me out of Lily Pulitzer fabric, back when wearing clothes your mom made had little bearing on whether or not your friends thought you were cool (as a side note here, I think we’ve gone full circle, as I would give anything to have my mom make my clothes now). I wore it in a fashion show at my elementary school. Peep Peep lived in my shower. I’m fairly certain that we went to the farm feed store and bought special Purina Duck Chow for him. What I remember most about that store are red and white Purina checkerboard on the building, the bins of bulk feed and how it smelled like cracked corn. At some point in raising Peep Peep, an adult must have warned me that he might bite. From then on, when the duck would approach me, I got skittish. I’m very sad now thinking about the rejection Peep Peep must have felt. But I don’t suppose ducks have such complex emotions since their brains are about the size of a walnut, so it was probably all the same to him. In June, the family decided that it was time for Peep Peep to move to the park, partially because I was scared of him, but also because it’s really a pain to have a duck in the house. I like to believe that Peep Peep became a favorite of the park crowd because he was so friendly. I bet he got the most heels from the loaves of Wonder Bread.