DAY 1
As I pull in our long driveway that leads to the farm cottage with the purple door, a red-tailed hawk swoops over the farm carrying something in its talons. Two mocking birds are dive bombing on him. Oh no! Is it one of our chickens? A guinea? I ponder, as the screaming from the backseat continues between sobs, “In-side, In-side, In-side!” I turn my head to look and his little body is lying prone in the booster seat and the seatbelt is under his arms. His face is red and tear stained. It was a rough morning. Granny messed up.
I was supposed to take Colen, our five-year-old grandson, to summer school. It’s only for a couple hours but it keeps him in a routine. Routine is very important for our little fella. But, Granny left too early and ran a few errands before taking him there. His almost four-year old little brother, Corey was also with us. Walking out the back door of my office, holding hands with these two little fellas, as we approached the car, the fella in the red hat decided he did not want to get in. He broke away and was headed around the back of the car. Corey jumped right in and got in his booster seat while I chased down Colen, praying a car didn’t come flying through the parking lot. I grabbed him from behind. He was flailing, kicking, and swinging. I wrestled him into his booster seat and reached across to buckle them both in. He was hitting me in the head repeatedly and began chanting, “In-side, in-side, in-side”. I shut the door and went around to get in the drivers side door saying, “It’s ok buddy. We’re going to school now. We’re going to see your friends and teacher.” He began wailing and screaming at the top of his little lungs. Twisting and kicking in his seat. It was just a couple of miles to the school. His little brother reached over and was hitting at him. “Stop it Corey, be nice to your brother.” I commanded. As we turned into the school, the meltdown continued. I drove around the little loop and pulled up beyond the door. I got out and went around to his side. Got him out of his booster seat and sat down with him on the curb, rocking, patting, and rubbing his little back trying to calm him. During the melee of the drive, he had kicked his little peach colored crocs off. There was a landscaping crew weed eating nearby and watching them seemed to be helping him calm. Other parents drove up to drop their children off. I asked Colen if he wanted to go inside with them. I carried him over to where they were gathering around the teacher. The teacher tried talking to him but then the kicking and flailing began again, so I told her today wasn’t going to be a good day. I wrestled him back into his booster seat, closed the door, went around to the drivers side, got in, and burst into tears. I didn’t know how to help my little buddy understand me and I didn’t understand my little buddy.
After we arrived home and went inside the purple door, my cheerful fella returned. “Sand-wich, sand-wich, sand-wich”, he repeated as he gathered the bread and peanut butter while looking for the grape jelly in the door of the refrigerator. I made them both a sandwich and we watched Despicable Me 3 and The Secret Life of Pets all afternoon since it was raining. Colen acted out all the best scenes. We danced, we sang, we cuddled.
DAY 2
After conferring with mom about the previous day’s debacle, we decided it would probably be easier for all of us if I came early to their house and we left from there and went straight to school. She had to leave at 8:00 but we didn’t need to leave for school until 8:35. The boys are always so happy and excited in the mornings. Corey said, “Do you want to blow some bubbles?”, and Colen started chanting, “Bub-bles, bub-bles, bub-bles”. So Granny got down the bubble wand and blew a few while they ran around trying to catch them and pop them. Then it was time to get dressed. Mom had their clothes laid out. Since Colen is older, I let him choose which shirt and shorts he wanted to wear (they’re currently both in the same size…twins). He chose a black shirt and khaki shorts. I helped him put his shirt on but he didn’t like it. He was pulling at the back and twisting at it. I realized there were tags in back and inside of it, so we went to the closet to pick another shirt that was tag-less. Granny gets it. I hate tags in any of my clothing.
Once they were dressed, I was trying to get their shoes on when Colen ran to the back of the house because he didn’t want to go. Granny was firmer this morning and raised her voice a little. “Colen, come put your shoes on, we’re going to school.” He came back in the living room carrying a yellow car, grumbling under his voice, but let me help him get his peach crocs on. When we got to school, I opened his door, took him by the hand, and he was still grumbling as he went off with the teacher and inside the building as she held his wrist to keep him from running. You can tell when he’s not happy about something. We may not understand what he’s saying, but his tone communicates exactly how he’s feeling.
While he was at school, Corey and I ran errands. Colen was happy as a clam when we picked him up and our afternoon activities were a repeat of the day before, but Granny amped up the fun by getting out the orange and blue slip-n-slide turning the pool area into a water park. There was splishing, there was splashing, and Granny tried to kill herself showing them how to slide.
DAY 3
Again, we started from their house. Again, there were bubbles. No issues getting dressed and Colen seemed excited about going to school. As we turned on Tiger Trail which leads to the school, he started chanting, “Go to cool, go to cool, go to cool.” We were the first ones in line and I didn’t even have to get out. The teacher opened the door and he hopped right out and went inside all on his own with a smile on his face and his red “Appling Tire and Service” hat on his head. Such a sweet boy! That was his last day of summer school and he’ll start pre-K along with his little brother August 1st.
Granny often worries about if he never learns to talk, will he be able to read? Many of the stories I write are for them. As we were driving home, I looked in the rearview mirror as Corey was “reading”, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?, and saw that Colen was listening intently. Corey can read my stories to him, if he has to. They are brothers after all and a brother is always your first friend.
Back at Granny’s house we celebrated summer at our homemade water park beside my wild garden. Splishing, splashing, sliding, squealing with laughter. A large blue dragonfly hovers just above their sun-blonde heads checking out the scene. A fluffy feather gently floats down from high in the longleaf pine above and lands on the surface of the pool. Most likely from the nest of eastern phoebes that sways in an outstretched limb. Sweet, sweet, summertime!
Thank you for reading. Your support and comments are always greatly appreciated!
Many blessings to you all!
💜B💜
I cried reading it. You’re writing always makes me emotional!❤️. He has a lot of the same struggles Marcie had at that age. We thought she would never speak in complete sentences. Now she never, ever, stops talking. 😝
Sweet summertime indeed ❤️