Who's Ever Heard of a Bejeweled Turkey?

The other day, my son brought home what his teacher dubbed a grade-wide "family project." It involved decorating a large cut-out of a turkey; the finished products would be hung up throughout the school for all to see. Now, I'm big on crafts. And, fairly artistic. I immediately envisioned the beautiful leaves of fall as the turkey's feathers, with some twigs as his feet and an acorn for the eye. But my son had other ideas.

For one, he didn't like the idea of a "family project." He saw it as his very own creation, which should have had me celebrating his independence, but when he reached for the faux gemstones and the glue, I cringed. Who's ever heard of a bejeweled turkey?! But, he would not be deterred. He did, however, add some pipecleaners and then 4 leaves as a nod to me.

As he handed the turkey to his teacher, I felt the urge to explain that my son had done it without any input from me. And, as another child in the school handed in a beautiful turkey covered with pine cones (that's some glue!), I caught myself feeling a little envious. I admit, this seems petty and childish. But, on the plus side, I did resist the urge to "accidentally" spill coffee on my son's turkey ("Sorry, we'll have to do another one!") because I was worried that the turkey would...well, come home to roost. Besides, those pine cones have probably fallen off by now.