Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?<\/p>\n
By Kate Chamberlin<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As Grace grows up, some of her stories are happy, some trying, some enlightening, and a few themes are sad, but, they\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
#33. The Wedding<\/p>\n
\u201cStop!\u201d Grace said. William, Paul, and even Crackers halted.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrop!\u201d she said and they all laid down on the carpet.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoll!\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the week, William\u2019s nursery school teacher had sent home a CD about \u201cStop! Drop! Roll!\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cSafe\u201d to come back in.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was washing the dishes,\u201d Grace said, \u201cI heard William discussing fires with his little brother. The dialogue went something like this:<\/p>\n
William (a very verbal 3-year old): Paul, this is very hot. No, no, don\u2019t touch. Sit here.<\/p>\n
Paul: (a very quiet one-year old and rarely says more than uh-uh and will point to things.)<\/p>\n
William: Now, Paul, you stay here. There are the logs for wood. (I heared a thump.)\u00a0 Here is kindling. (I hear paper being crinkled up.)\u00a0 I\u2019ll clear a fire wall here. (I heared the muffled bam-bam of a winter boot hitting the floor.)<\/p>\n
Paul: uh-uh.<\/p>\n
William: No, no Paul, Stay there. Uh-oh. The mud is coming off my boot.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Turning from the sink with wet hands, \u201cDon\u2019t worry about the dried mud. You can vacuum it up at clean-up time. Where is Paul? Is he helping you?\u201d<\/p>\n
William: Yes, he\u2019s in the fire.<\/p>\n
Trying not to panic or stifle creativity), I said, \u201cExcuse me? Is that a safe place to be?\u201d<\/p>\n
William had put a ring of boots and sneakers around a pile of all the plastic containers and lids from the children\u2019s 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\u2019s hats, mittens and coats.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
After we\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh Dear Gussie, I\u2019m glad I remembered Smokey Bear\u2019s advice to douse the ashes or I\u2019d never have gotten those two boys to help me wash the kitchen floor before you got home!\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace and Ken quietly laughed with pride at how their little family was shaping up.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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