For the birds

Sunday afternoon I went downstairs to fold some laundry and spend time with Skyler in the family room. He'd been down there for a while and after I'd been there for 10 minutes or so, he said, "Mom, did you know I saw a bird in the house?"
M: "Really? Where?"
S: "Well, it was up by that window."(Pointing)
M: "Huh. Are you sure it wasn't outside the window and it just looked like it was inside?"
S: "No, Mom, I really think it was inside. It was trying to get out. I think it was in here because maybe it was cold out or something; but I guess it flew away.
M: "Hmm. Well, I guess it's gone. That must have been neat to see it."
S: "Yeah."
Okay, so an hour later I went upstairs, following mom-speed behind my zippy children. They ran into the living room as I made it to the kitchen to wash my hands (I have weirdness about folding clothes. It dries out my hands); when suddenly something dive-bombed at my head, swooping up to the fake foliage on top of my cabinets. I looked up and peering down at me, standing next to my very fake chicken, was a very real bird. It tweeted and flew back to the fake tree in my living room.
S: "Mom! Mom! There it is! It's the bird I was telling you about! Mom!"
Aria, screaming: "Aaaahhhhh! Mom! Mom! EeeeAaaaahhhh!"
M: "Oh my gosh, buddy! You weren't kidding!"
S: "I told you, Mom!"
M: "I know you did, bud, I just...Oh my gosh!"
The bird flew again, this time to the living room window. It was trying to get out. I was trying to get a good look at it to see if it was healthy in case one of the kids touched it, or it died from hitting the window over and over.
A: "Mom! No! Don't kill it! Nooooo!"
M: "Honey, I'm not going to kill it."
A: "Mom! Please don't kill it! Aaaahhhh!!!"
M: "Honey! I'm not going to kill it! I'm just trying to let it outside. Shhh, don't scream honey, Daddy's sleeping!"
A: "Mommy! That bird is totally freaking me out!
M: "I know, honey. Just please try not to freak. Daddy's sleeping."
A: "But it's soooooo freaky!!!"
M: "I know, darling."
It's at this point that I tiptoed into our bedroom to make sure he was still asleep. Shelby was waking up.
"Sweetheart, (using a calm, soothing voice) everything is okay, but I thought you should know that there's a bird in the house. I'm trying to get it out. It's okay, wake up slowly."
Well, Shelby kindly got out of bed and saved the day by opening the window it was helplessly bouncing against (why didn't I notice there was no screen up?), and our day strangely went very quickly back to "normal". Aria found a feather to keep for a souvenir, Skyler felt very satisfied about having been right all along, Shelby (having had experience with bats previously) felt assured he's still got it, and I vowed to not dismiss too quickly the absurd things my children say about wild animals in the house. [The bird is the dark blob on the floor next to the tree, resting from flapping against the window too many times].