“…Eyeballs…” Bk III: 39. Fire Prevention

Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?

By Kate Chamberlin

As Grace grows up, some of her stories are happy, some trying, some enlightening, and a few themes are sad, but, they’re all the warp and woof of what goes into the tapestry of life we call Family. The daily living skills and techniques demonstrated by the fictional characters in these stories are valid, tried and true.

Book III:  Wife and Mother

#33. The Wedding

#34. The Honeymoon: Lake Pocotopaug

#35. The Honeymoon: Freedom Trail

#36. The Baby Can’t Go Home

#37. The Home Visit

#38. And Then There Were Two

#39.  Fire Prevention

“Stop!” Grace said. William, Paul, and even Crackers halted.

“Drop!” she said and they all laid down on the carpet.

“Roll!” she said and the humans covered their faces with their hands and did log rolls back and forth, while Crackers jumped from one to the other in joyful abandonment.

Earlier in the week, William’s nursery school teacher had sent home a CD about “Stop! Drop! Roll!” during their Fire Prevention unit. Fireman Dan showed the children all his fire-fighting garb and discussed fire safety in a non-threatening manner. Grace and the children practiced the low crawl to find and feel the door before going out of the house to their mailbox at the end of the driveway.

When Ken changed the batteries in the smoke alarm, they walked out of the house to stand at the mailbox, until Ken said it was “Safe” to come back in.

After the boys had finally been tucked in, Grace and Ken relaxed with a glass of wine, so she could share what had happened that evening, while Ken had been at an orchestra rehearsal.

“I was washing the dishes,” Grace said, “I heard William discussing fires with his little brother. The dialogue went something like this:

William (a very verbal 3-year old): Paul, this is very hot. No, no, don’t touch. Sit here.

Paul: (a very quiet one-year old and rarely says more than uh-uh and will point to things.)

William: Now, Paul, you stay here. There are the logs for wood. (I heared a thump.)  Here is kindling. (I hear paper being crinkled up.)  I’ll clear a fire wall here. (I heared the muffled bam-bam of a winter boot hitting the floor.)

Paul: uh-uh.

William: No, no Paul, Stay there. Uh-oh. The mud is coming off my boot.

Up to this point, I had a picture in my mind of William building a small, pretend campfire with the logs in the center and the fire barrier around it where the boys would then sit and roast pretend marshmallows.

Turning from the sink with wet hands, “Don’t worry about the dried mud. You can vacuum it up at clean-up time. Where is Paul? Is he helping you?”

William: Yes, he’s in the fire.

Trying not to panic or stifle creativity), I said, “Excuse me? Is that a safe place to be?”

William had put a ring of boots and sneakers around a pile of all the plastic containers and lids from the children’s cupboard on top of his prone little brother! For kindling, He had pulled his art work off the back-door and scrunched it up – magnets and all and carefully placed them with the plastics. Here and there were children’s hats, mittens and coats.

Vacuuming up the mud was the least of the clean-up problems. It took us forever to separate plastics, shoes, boots, trash and mud and get them back in their assigned spots.

After we’d dismantled the campfire, we made sure the fire was out by soaking the floor. We then proceeded to laugh and sing as we mopped the kitchen floor clean enough to eat off of it.

“Oh Dear Gussie, I’m glad I remembered Smokey Bear’s advice to douse the ashes or I’d never have gotten those two boys to help me wash the kitchen floor before you got home!”

Grace and Ken quietly laughed with pride at how their little family was shaping up.