The gorilla

We have a Japanese Maple that is outside Gracie & Lauren's bedroom window. It is planted a little too closely to the house, and sometimes the branches brush the house, especially during storms or windy weather.

During the windy spring, they expressed concern about "the gorilla," by asking if there was a gorilla in the house. We assume that the gorilla is their explanation of the limb noise they hear, but we will probably never know for sure. Even now, they still ask if there is a gorilla upstairs when it is time to go to bed. If they go upstairs to retrieve something, they buddy up and go together.

They have peppered us with hundreds of questions about gorillas. We have patiently explained that there is no conceivable way that a gorilla could ever be in our home. They persisted, though, and still wanted to know what we would do if one ever appeared. We stuck to our guns and explained that there is no possible way that a gorilla would appear on our street, gain entry to our home and navigate its way to their room.

"But what if it did?" they asked (x10,000).

Finally, we agreed on what they would say should a gorilla ever appear in their room. It goes like this:

"Mr. Gorilla, this is our home. You can't be here! You're home is in the JUNGLE!"

Straight, simple, and to the point. Most importantly, it worked.

Needless to say, this book is not a candidate for bedtime reading:



And, the cute gorilla at the time is not on any wish lists. (The above gorilla can be found at miYim.com as part of the Jane Goodall collection.)