Poo

Moses pointing at poo

Dog walkers in Glenmore Park apparently don’t realise that they, too, are part of Australia and are therefore called to adhere to the cleaning-up-after-your-dog rules that apply to the rest of the country, so we see a lot of poo around. I’ve noticed this because Moses is obsessed with the stuff. When he’s in his pram he merely points and labels as I stroll along, so, along with birds chirping and planes soaring overhead, our walk soundtrack now includes my son’s regular announcements: “Poo....Poo....Poo...More poo!...Poo...Mummy! More poo!...Poo.”

Recently, though, he’s started wanting to get out of the pram so that he can walk, which allows him to squat and inspect each poo he comes across, one at a time. Sometimes he even goes back for a second look at a particularly fascinating poo, and he’ll call out, “Come, Mum!” I then have to explain to him that though I love him unconditionally and have always wanted to be a mother who supports her kids’ interests even when they differ from her own - and I’ve already thought through the fact that one day he might want to play rugby league rather than soccer or listen to house music rather than decent music – and though it warms my heart to see him exploring and finding new and interesting things and I’d ordinarily love to share his excitement and come see what it is he’s discovered, I have to draw the line when it comes to peering at poo. He seems to understand and moves on to the next one, often before my spiel is over.

As we walk home he says “Bye!” to the poo and continues to wave at it until the poo is out of sight. And then when he sees Dadda he tells him animatedly about how we went to the park, and (though we also kicked a ball around and played catch and climbed on a fence and picked up sticks) there was poo there. At least, it seems like this is exactly what he’s saying; he’s still not speaking in full sentences so we have to fill in the blanks. He only started saying “Dadda“ a month ago, and he still can’t say “please” (he says “thank you” instead); he is very good, though, at saying “poo.”