Breaking: Major Paleontological Discovery in Our Backyard

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a situation. Theo has made what he’s calling “the discovery of the century” and honestly, who am I to argue with an 11-year-old paleontologist?

Breaking: Major Paleontological Discovery in Our Backyard

The rock— sorry, FOSSIL— has been carefully excavated from our backyard (near the swing set) and is now displayed with full honors on our living room mantle. It sits between our wedding photo and Sophie’s school picture, because apparently that’s where significant geological specimens belong in this house.

Scientific analysis in progress

The scientific analysis was thorough. Theo spent forty-seven minutes examining it with his magnifying glass, took detailed notes in his dinosaur journal, and declared it to be “definitely from the Cretaceous period, probably a piece of Triceratops bone.” I asked him how he could be so sure. He looked at me like I’d asked why the sky is blue and said, “Mom, it’s OBVIOUS.”

The pride of a paleontologist

The pride on his face when he placed it on the mantle was everything. Marcus and I exchanged a look that said “we’re never telling him it’s just a really interesting rock, are we?” The answer is no. Absolutely not. Some discoveries are too important to fact-check. Besides, who knows? Maybe in a few million years, it’ll actually BE a fossil. Theo’s just thinking ahead.