It's 3am, and your kids are... right THERE, lady!!!


Many of us as parents know that feeling when we momentarily lose our kid in a crowd, or around a corner... and we call out their name really loud, and everyone looks... it's not great.
However, when you are a duck, you have the added disadvantage that things like, say, getting more than 20 feet away from your ducklings can cause you total confusion. Even in the middle of the night when there's nothing else going on.
So, you call out for them. And, nothing happens. So, you call some more.
In fact, let's just quote the duck here:
"Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack."
Pause.
"Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack.
Splash. Flap around.
"Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack."
After about 30 minutes of this going on outside our bedroom window, I decided to investigate what drama might be unfolding in the creek beside our house. I put on shoes that looked really good with my PJs, got a flashlight, and headed out.
From my new vantage point outside, I could hear more of what was going on. It sounded like this:
"Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack."
(Somewhere up the creek) "Peep. Peep. Peep. Peep. Peep. Peep. Peep."
"Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack."
"Peep. Peep. Peep. Peep."
This was beginning to sound like:
"Come over here!"
"No, you come over here!"
"No, YOU come over HERE!"
Enough. I tossed a pebble behind the duck and startled her toward her kids.
Not far enough though. So she stood there in her new spot and yelled some more.
So I threw another pebble. I really really wanted to go back to bed.
This time she got further down and apparently found her ducklings. There was much cooing and peeping and stuff. Best of all, it was further away.
Satisfied, I headed back to bed.
As I drifted off I could faintly hear her going on and on and on - and as I fell asleep it started to sound like, "Don't you EVER wander off like that again! Don't you know you can get LOST out here? How am I supposed to FIND you! You stay next to me from now on, you HEAR?"
"Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack. Quack....."