Peacock Village

Peacock Village

The definition of a Family Tradition is, “an aggregate of attitude, ideas and ideals and environment, which a person inherits from their parents and ancestors”. With family dynamics changing in this world on a daily basis, so does the family tradition. During my time it was something passed down from generation to generation. That’s not true anymore it can be a new tradition that families start and not necessarily one that was passed down. Where does that line cross where it becomes a “Family Tradition” or “Building Memories”? While I say it’s both, friends of mine tend to disagree. This being the case over the last year of lock downs, shutdowns and the unknown, my family found a way to deal with the grand kids schools and activities suddenly being gone, along with everything else in the country.

Every Sunday morning my daughter and the three grand kids get up, and go for a car ride. The boys are 16 and 9 years old, while my granddaughter is 6 years old. In our town there are so many back roads or country roads as I call them. They are the roads that connect the other roads in the town, or the back way to other towns, without having to go down city streets and stop at every stop sign or stop light in the town. The ones that have the most wonderful view of the hills, countryside, animals and the quiet life normally not offered in our town. One particular road in the country leads to a neighborhood on the backside of town.

During the Pandemic it was quieter than usual. But this was a much better view to take in. It was during these car rides my family discovered an area full of peacocks. From that first discovery to now, my grand kids cannot stop talking about them. To hear the excitement and see the smiles on their faces every Sunday is so wonderful. If you did not know better you would think it was their first time seeing them, and not over a hundred times. While sitting there watching the peacocks my daughter looks up information about peacocks and shares it with the kids. Every Sunday they have a new story to tell, about something that one or more of the peacocks have done. Over time my granddaughter has decided to name the area “Peacock Village”, and it has stuck with everyone.

She knows every peacock there and if one is not there, she worries for him/her. She knows every detail on them, right down to their colors and the sounds they make. I thought every peacock looked and sounded the same. I was not aware how unique each one was until I went with them one Sunday and my granddaughter gave me a lesson in peacocks, one that I will never forget. A significant piece of information she shared with me is only the boys are called peacocks. The girls are called peahens. Something I was not aware of, I thought they were all the same. Her favorite peacocks are the boys because they are so colorful. The male peacocks are always spreading out their feathers and they are so beautiful.

When you pull up to see the peacocks, you cannot get out of your car. They surround the car. They are under it, on top of it, walking around it, walking towards it, some are in the trees, and on fences, just all over the place. Not only do they get on our car but they are all over the neighborhood on top of the cars in the driveways. The entire time talking and fluffing the feathers. They are really beautiful animals.

Now that more businesses are starting to open up, my daughter and grand kids go to Dutch Brothers Coffee and get their drinks and muffin tops before they head on over to Peacock Village, every Sunday morning. My six year old granddaughter thinks this is so cool, because the ladies at Dutch Brothers know what she drinks and she does not have to tell them, it makes her feel extra special. Then they head over to Peacock Village where they sit and park and take in the beauty and nature around them.

With everything being shutdown, they were unable to go to the parks or do sports teams so we tried to peak their interest in other ways. The Sunday morning drives was originally just to relax everyone with a simple car ride and spend quality time together and to try and get everyone’s mind off of being stuck in the house, mask wearing, and hand sanitizing for who knows how long.

For me as a parent, I am so proud of my daughter for not only taking the situation and turning it into a learning experience, but starting her own “Family Tradition” with her children and “Building Memories” that they will never forget during the Pandemic.