October 17 – “Riding the wild … what?”

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.