Twice Pope

May 1st

We have a new family member: A rock named Pope... or Pope Pope... or Twice Pope depending on his mood.

The story goes like this: Jason had a baseball game on Monday. We all went but about 6:30, when it started to rain, I collected Xander and headed home. Xander was not entirely happy with that -- he was having too much fun but once we were in the car, he discovered a rock in his seat. Not a surprise given his passion for them. What happened next, though... As we were driving away, he looked at the rock in his hand.

'Mommy, I want to throw this at the baseball game.'
'Well, you can't throw it at the game but you can throw it out the window at those
bushes.'
(I put the car window down and the rock went whizzing out. Predictably...)
'I want it back!' Tears everywhere.
Desperate Mom: 'Wait! Isn't that your rock?'
'Where?' looking around puzzled
'There, beside the car!'
Obliging child 'Oh, yes. I see it!'
Desperate Mom: 'Is it running beside the car?'
Obliging child 'Yes, Mom. He is running. I want him back!'
Desperate Mom: 'I betcha he will beat us home. He will be right there, beside the car when we get out and he will say, 'Hiya Xander, what took so long!' (we have a big pile of rocks beside the driveway)
While Xander thinks about this interesting possibility, Mom asks 'Does your rock have a name?'
'Yep'
'What is it?'
'Pope'
'Alexander Pope?'
'No. Pope Pope'
'Twice Pope?'
'Yep.'
When we got home, I scrounged the ground and came up with a largish rock. Handed it to Xander as I got him out of the car. He gazed at it in admiration.
'Pope has grown!'
'Well, you know, rolling stones gather no moss. Maybe he ate the moss and got
bigger!'
'Yep.' silence then 'Mommy, what do rocks eat?'
'I don't know Xander, what do rocks eat? DO they eat?'
'Yep, they eat pine cones, grass and nightmares.'
'Nightmares?'
'Yep, they bonk them on the head and turn them into little green worms and eat
them.'
'I thought the dragons ate Nightmares when they were worms?'
'Yep. Pope bonks nightmares and they become worms and the dragons eat them.'
Once inside we had to give Pope a bath (with Xander) then I found a baby sock (with Barney on it) and made Pope a 'sleeper'. I also had to find a small handkerchief to be Pope's blankie. Then we wrapped Pope up and put him to bed on the bookshelf, the better to watch over the boys as they slept. When Jason got home and heard the story of Pope, he was delighted and, of course, wanted a pet rock of his own...

So now we have seven, all spray painted white and waiting to have their faces put on...