In order to teach, relate and even converse with Rhino I must share his passion.
Dinosaurs.
He is obsessed with the prehistoric giants and can tell you almost anything you need to know- and then a little more. While I try to keep up, I am left most times to simply take his word for most of the facts that he shares. While I struggle to simply convince him that you can wear pants in the summertime, in spite of most summer pictures that display the wearing of shorts; I am amazed at his ability to understand and retain knowledge when it deals with the world dinosaurs.
With Rhino- everything is black or white. You say what you mean and you'd better mean what you say. This mentality can be tricky in a society full of slang, sarcasm, and many different forms of expression.
While difficult to always be thinking two steps ahead in order to just keep up, Rhino provides me with a simple element of life that most people do not get to experience. He has the mind of an innocent child and does not complicate things as most of us tend to do. This teaches me to experience life more and not worry about public opinion or social standing. While he is effected in his own way, Rhino is generally oblivious to the opinions of the outside world. What freedom to do as you wish without being judged or pursaided otherwise!
In an attempt to belong to his world, I sat with him as he viewed yet another documentary. The zoologist and narrator was studying the migration patterns of an Argentinosaurus herd. An herbivore of the cretaceous time period, this is possibly the largest, heaviest animal to ever live on the earth getting as big as approximately 150 feet tall and 100 tons! That's roughly the weight of 10 full grown elephants ... or so I'm told.
I attempted to follow what the zoologist was describing and Rhino was there to set me straight should I become misinformed. While migrating, the herd of adults and youth came across a typical challenge; predators.
This particular threat came in the form of the velocoraptor. Known for their strategic hunting skills, these turkey-sized carnivores are believed to be the smartest of their kind and the first species to hunt in groups.
While slightly disturbing, it was interesting to see how such a tiny dinosaur could pose such a threat to the largest.
Typical of most predators, they would follow the herd and seek out the weak. Once the target was located, in this case a young female, the velocoraptors would poke and bite at the youth until she fell away from the herd. This usually took some time but victory was usually awarded to the hunter.
The circle of life must go on... even for dinosaurs, this I know but what bothered me more than the attack itself was the lack of defense put on by the older members of the group. While I realize this was a computer generated re-enactment, the herd just seemed to keep walking on even while the youngster was being preyed upon.
I asked Rhino what he thought, as he is not a fan of carnivores but prefers herbivores because they don't kill. His response caught me off guard but hit straight to my core.
"The mom did not do her job, Moms are supposed to protect their kids from bad things."
Though caught off guard, I agreed and intrigued wanted to hear more. "How is she supposed to do that when there was bad guys all around?"
Without hesitation he replied, "the Argentinosaurus is so much stronger- she just can't be afraid. And if she is brave, all she has to do is pick up her foot and she can crush the velocoraptors. That's just what moms have to do to keep bad things away."
Wow! I had no idea that by watching a clip about extinct creatures I would be reminded of my duty as a mother and the power that comes with such a responsibility!
Not all predators have sharp claws and teeth. Danger can approach our youth in many circumstances. While I do not want to regularly be compared to the largest living creature ever to roam on land, I will accept the ability and blessing of being able to gather courage, recognize my superior strength to stomp out evil and protect my young.
I could not say it better myself, "because that's just what moms have to do."
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