Peep the Chick

Just thought I'd share -

So during this past Easter break from school, my quasi 8 year old daughter had a play-date with her classmate who lives down the block. At the end of the day, when we went to drop off her friend back home, I met the dad and wound up with a baby chick.
To make the long story short, they brought theirs back to their farmer friend while Peep is STILL with us...my daughter will not hear of sending him back.
Well, let me tell you, it's been a learning experience. While I'm still convinced we should send Peep off to a more suitable home, I, in the meantime, did tons of research, made his home as cozy and friendly as possible and have been giving him lots of love.
The most surprising thing though and I guess the point of my story is how attached you become to any little living creature when you progressively interact with it. I mean this chicky is now not so little anymore and now that it's warmer, I've been taking him out more and more and he's sort of "free-ranging" in my garden...eating worms (yuck) and all. It's so funny, because (ok I know it's instinct) but I actually feel like I have him trained and we bonded....I'm more attached to the darn thing than my daughter is now....When we first started doing this I'd help her search for worms by digging up the dirt with my trowel and she would stick by me like glue...after that 1st time she totally remembered the next day and would jump on my trowel and look at me as if to say "so wataya waitin for" and now she follows me around all over the place during our garden excursions - I just think it's funny and sweet.
P.S. I also still sort of eat chikcen but in the back of my mind, think of Peep.