Kids have an almost inhuman way of tugging at the proverbial heartstrings.  Even the hardest of souls can be softened by a baby's coos, or a toddler's kind word.  I'd like to believe that we run a tight ship around here, but every once in a while we, too, just go all to mush.  Today was was my once in a while.  Calvin and I went to the library today to enjoy a presentation given by "the local farm lady," who brought a chicken and a duck for the kids to ogle.  Calvin was absolutely enthralled by both the woman and her birds.  He spent the entire forty minutes sitting in one spot on the floor listening to her with rapt attention, and when her talk was over he waited patiently in line for his turn to get close to the two farm fowl.  Wally, the enormous white duck, really drew his attention, and when it came time for the feathered friends to go home, my sweet, sensitive son was absolutely beside himself.  I was not at all prepared for the torrent of tears or the soft, sorrowful whispering - "Wally, Wally, go home, Wally."  It wasn't at all a temper tantrum - he was being quiet and obedient - it was just pure and utter sorrow.  We sat outside and talked for a few minutes about how hard it is to say goodbye, and that it was okay to cry quietly (which he was doing), and about how Wally was probably quite happy to be going home where he could play outside, and would Calvin like to go play outside?  "Nooooooo, Waaaaallllllllyyyyyy." And that's when the heartstrings finally broke, my inner reserve went completely to mush, and I lost all touch with my common sense and we walked from the library to a downtown giftshop where Calvin, still tearfully, picked out a duck of his own to take home and care for.  Wally joined us for lunch, he joined us for quiet time, he joined Calvin for naptime, and even now both Wally and Calvin are safely snuggled, along with blanket and froggy, of course, in bed for the night.