by Michelle Korgis-Fitzpatrick copyright June 2002-03 Being a parent has a lot of responsibility to it. It’s not easy. But, there are a lot of benefits that come from being a parent. Joyful laughter’s, accomplishments from children, and the lists go on. For an example, myself as a parent--to one wonderful, quick learner, bright young 7-year-old boy and another on the way--you must be willing to have patients. Just recently, my son, Zackory, finished his first grade school year and now is in summer school. And I’m here in the process of writing a manuscript that I call, "Backyard Adventures." It deals on different types of birds that you find in your backyard; Robins, Cardinals, Barn Swallows, Black Birds, Scissor Tails, and etc. Since I’ve begun this little manuscript, Zackory has become interested in wanting to know more information about these birds. Yet, mostly wanting to know more about Scissor Tails. Beginning on the first day of summer school, I drove him to school and the first thing that Zackory said to me, with excitement in his voice, was, "Mommy, look over there on the wire. It’s a Scissor Tail bird." As I drove down the street, I turn for a quick glance and saw that it was a Scissor Tail bird. Then, I turned to him and responded back, "Yep. That sure is." At that time, all the questions started to be asked. "When I get home, can we go out in the yard and take some pictures of scissor tails?" Zackory asked, with his eyes lit up. "If we see them, then yes, we can," I answered back with a grin. More and more question continued from Zackory’s little inquisitive mind. Any questions from, "Why are they called scissor tails?" to, "How big can they get?" To the best of my knowledge, I gave him an answer with every question. Although, from all those questions, there was one particular question that caught my attention! At that time, we were at his school. The one question that he left me with for the day was, "If Scissor Tails, tails open up when they start to fly, can they cut the lines on the poles?" I laughed. Then, I leaned over and kissed him on the forehead and said with a smile, "No honey. They don’t." (Published in the Christian County News-Journal, June 2002)