Last month – The free-roaming peacocks at the zoo made an obvious impression on young Emily. She wasn’t afraid of them per se, but she did give an excited jump every time we spotted one on our travels – and there were many of them. Later that night, at home after dinner, Emily was convinced that she saw a peacock in the living room. “Daddy! Peapock coming! Peapock coming!”. I played along, “Where? Is he here?”. She looked around the room and down the hall and confirmed, “No, peapock go home. Peapock in the supermarket!” We have no idea how this connection was made, but it has stuck. To this day, peacocks live in the supermarket.

Saturday night – Emily would not stay in bed. Every time Jan tucked her in and left the room, Emily would soon pop her head into the hallway and make a dash for freedom. It was very late. Jan was very tired. Her emotions got the best of her and she started to cry from frustration. Emily saw this, walked up to Jan, and earnestly said, “Please, mummy, don’t cry. Emily make it better. Emi make a chocolate cake!”, and went straight to work with her toy stove in the living room. It was almost midnight.

Today – Jan and Emily went for a walk in a nearby garden this evening. The sun had set and it was getting dark. As they were walking through the garden, Emily said, “Emi a bit scared, mummy” and smiled with the joy of the adrenaline rush. A night bird was crying from a nearby tree and Emily stopped in her tracks. “What’s this noise?” she asked. “What’s this strange noise? What’s this sound, mummy?” Jan was bowled over at the fact that Emily was able to form the same question in three different ways. Emily later admitted that she thought it was a peapock.