Cooped Up Outside

The weather in Victoria has been uncharacteristically moody lately. Fortunately, on the weekend we were blessed with a winter day that was both sunny and balmy. That fact, combined with brand new bicycles motivated my otherwise shut-in younger boys to spend some time outside. After an exhausting (for me) session of rider training for them both, Milo came and seated himself next to me on the outdoor park bench.
"Can we go inside, Daddy?"
"Of course not!"
"Why?"
"Because we've been cooped up inside the house for weeks now and today is a great day to be outdoors and enjoy the beautiful weather."
Silence. Milo was in a state of deep contemplation. Suddenly he announced, "I feel cooped up outside." I laughed and responded, "You can't be cooped up outside."
"Well, what does cooped up mean?", he asked. I explained that it meant you were surrounded by four walls and feeling trapped and stuffy.
"Oh", he said in a pensive and almost disappointed tone of voice. Then off he bounded and escaped my attention for a few moments. Not for long. Having run into our neighbour's front yard, and leaning on the beam post in the centre, he called me over to witness his evidence. "Look, Daddy!", he exclaimed. "I'm cooped up outside!" He then immediately rotated his body around as he counted and pointed at each of the three yard walls and the wall of the house in turn. "One, two, three, four! I'm cooped up outside!" He looked up at me and beamed with pride and satisfaction. I laughed at his very literal interpretation of my words, but couldn't argue with his reasoning. I let him go inside.

See you in Milo's world,
Shakes