We
drove into Texas yesterday to hang out with the LaMarque cousins while Mom and
Dad went to an early movie (Venom, as I
understand it. Apparently the Kel review
was mixed. They changed the character’s
back story and presented the movie Spiderman style – funny). After the kiddos finished schoolwork and I
stopped for a break on my own computer work, we all went out in the front
yard. And that’s when things got …
creative.
It
started with a few bicycle races. Not
that unusual, I know. Jachin would give
his brothers a massive head start, then see how fast he could catch up to them. That one got old fairly quickly. Too easy for the teenager.
Then
they began to formulate some “ideas.”
Now I have to say up front that I warned them that they shouldn’t do
anything too crazy unless there was a parent (or an Uncle) present. Didn’t
work. Uncle Ideas soon became the order
of the day.
First,
Noa sat down on one of those weird toddler riding toys with no pedals – the
kind you just push with both feet on the ground. The boys called it their “Trash
Vehicle.” Micah backed up to her on his
bike. Josiah came out of the garage with
a tow rope. Yep. You guessed it. They attached the rope to both vehicles and
Micah took off. He stayed on the
sidewalk, but he still got going a lot faster than was comfortable for
Nana. But Noa did fine. She was still wearing the helmet she insisted
on putting on when she was showing me her roller blades. And that was a good thing. Micah got going faster and faster. Noa was squealing in delight. Right up until she crashed into a grassy
area. Face first into the grass. She popped right up, though. Her brothers had already warned her that if
anything happened, she was not allowed to cry.
She insisted she was all good.
Took a while for Nana’s heartbeat to get back to normal, though.
Then
came the “other game.” Jachin called it
the Olympic training run for the luge.
The rope was disconnected from the bike, but left on the toy. Jachin would take one end of the rope while
one of the little one would sat on the toy and held on for dear life. Jachin then started running as fast as he
could. Then he whipped them around and
suddenly they were on their own, careening down the sidewalk. I may or may not have acted as videographer
for the event. But I did see one video
each for Micah and Josiah. Oh, and then
there was the one where Jachin was on the toy, knees scrunched up next to his
ears, while Micah tugged him as hard as he could for a ride. He didn’t get very far. One of the best parts of the whole affair,
however, was Noa’s starting whistle. From
near the estimated finish line she would put her fingers up to her mouth – like
someone would do who knew how to whistle (which
I don’t) – the, she would emit a high-pitched scream that sounded, well, just
like a whistle. Quite effective.
Now
I started to end this tale here, but sadly, I cannot. See, before long Mom and Dad got home. And of course that meant showing off their
training skills. Josiah helmeted
up. Jachin took off running. The luge-toy raced past our vantage
point. But alas, the steering mechanism
was “faulty” at best. The craft veered
only slightly to the right … just enough for one of the wheels to leave the concrete
surface and in a flurry of grass and soil, embed itself into the grass
nearby. The luge stopped in an instant,
throwing its rider forward, face first – onto the sidewalk. Elbows scraped along the ground, helping to
grind the flying body to a halt. Knees
were spared, since they were extended in the air like Superman taking off on a
particularly windy day. Our biggest
concern, of course, was Josiah’s face and head and the precious cargo carried
within. But all was well there. Instinctively, he had turned his head to the
side, so that aggravating helmet that your parents always make you wear was
able to do its job and absorb the brunt of the contact. The adults rushed to his side, Mom of course
arriving first. And who else is there
that always want at your side when you are a youngster and have just taken a
tumble? Gotta be Mom. Jachin grabbed Ezra and carried him away from
the “action.” Noa curiously lingered at
the edge of the circle. Micah hovered
around, still on his bike. All were
waiting for the official Mom announcement that inevitably had to come. Christina asked all the “Where does it hurt?”
questions. Kel rotated his arms a time
or two to check for winces and groans.
Then Christina asked if he was ready to come on inside. Josiah leapt to his feet and proclaimed, “No. Jachin, come on. That one didn’t count.” But … Mom said absolutely not. She insisted that he come on in and clean up
all the blood and settle down for a while.
Somewhat defeated, but not exactly all that disappointed, Josiah trudged
inside, got his wounds cleaned and bandaged, and plopped down on the couch with
ice packs to his head and both elbows.
When
it came time for us to leave, Nana went over to do a little encouraging. The two of them were comparing bruises and
scrapes. Josiah’s were on his elbows,
but Nana had scrapes on her knee, both arms and even one thumb (Another story. Another time). That seemed to garner a little bit of
interest. So I added, “Yes, but you got
your wounds flying through the air like Superman. Nana got hers trying to walk.” Oops.
True, but maybe not the most encouraging thing to say about my
wife. I got a quick, “Hey, now.” But Josiah certainly enjoyed it. His eyes lit up and we even heard one of his
patented gut-giggles. I think all will
be well.
Psalms
105:5 says, “Remember the wonders he has
done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.”
Father,
would you be with Josiah in particular today.
Heal up those scrapes and ease up that headache. Amen.
