Where have I been the past two weeks? Very little blogging, to be sure. But I have a good reason. My little grand-nephew has been here for that length of time, thus I had very little time to devote to blogging or any of the other "intellectual pursuits" that I pursue. But life with a seven-year-old visitor can be busy...so I offer no other excuse and do not feel badly about being too busy to blog.
Being busy is just part of having a visiting child in the home. Another part is the drastic change in the television program line-up, especially during the morning hours. I have relinquished the television (yes, we just have ONE television...and that is possibly ONE TOO MANY) to my nephew's whim (with guidance, of course). so I have bid a temporary goodbye to my usual shows such as Dateline, City Confidential, Disappeared, and many others of that mold. Gone, too, are the scary, if not cheesy, sci-fi and "horror" flicks that I enjoy, but which are best not viewed by a young and impressionable child.
Instead my daily repertoire now includes such intriguing shows as Wonder Pets, Transformer Rescue Team (or something like that), Jason and the Pirates (in Never Land with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee), and several other similar programs, the titles of which escape me at the moment. In any case, the television is busy for a couple of hours a day with these wonderful kiddie shows. I have to admit, the diversion from the real world afforded by these programs is actually quite welcome. Plus, I have the added pleasure of "bugging" my little friend while he is trying to wholly concentrate on his cartoons. You know, I sneak up and tickle him, ask him lots of questions about what we are watching, and generally "pester" him while he is in rapt concentration.
After a little while of watching the tube, I force my little charge to do other things, such as ride his bike, play outside, or even occasionally perform some little chore. While he does not spend the entire day in front of the TV set, there have been several times in the past few days when the temperature hit the triple digits, and it was just too hot to send him outside for extended periods. During the periods where he is indoors but has already watched his television allotment, I like to talk to him about his books and the things he has been reading about. For instance, he acquired a nature book just the other day from a local book sales event. From his reading, he was able to inform me that the Texas Great-Horned Lizard could be found all over Texas, including Oklahoma, which is located in the northern part of Texas. Somewhat surprised by this revelation, I mentioned to him that Oklahoma was in reality another state to our north. No, he was positive...Oklahoma was a city somewhere in Texas, and "horny toads" live there just like in the rest of the state. (Please, no one tell the Sooners they are a part of the great nation of Texas...let them stay in their blissful ignorance of this fact. Such knowledge would only bring extra complications for them during upcoming college football season.)
My little charge loves to ride in Clancy, which is my Jeep (well, strictly speaking it is my lovely bride's Jeep, but I do most of the jeeping in it). My own children were not that fond of Jeep rides as younger children, although nowadays they both like occasional short hops around town in it. Coleman (nephew) told me that he wanted to ride in the Jeep one day as we were about to leave for work. This particular day it was only 98 degrees, so the triple digit temperature threat had been dodged, although it was still somewhat warm outside. I mentioned to Cole that it would be a long, hot ride to town, but he said he was up to it. And he was! He liked the noisy, windy ride very much.
Being a smart young man for his age, he already knew that the air temperature would not feel as hot since we would be moving at a relatively fast clip. You know, he was right. The air felt not one degree hotter than 97 degrees!
This morning was another fun day with the nephew. Oh, he has his moments when he wants to do other than what he is told, or takes a little longer to get things done than is actually necessary, but most of the day with him is a pleasant summer day. I remember years ago when I was out of school for the summer and I would go to one relative or another for a few days or even two or three weeks. There was a trade-off, though. The days one is gone visiting relatives means that many fewer days one is at home to spend the school vacation with his friends. Yesterday Cole realized this very thing. So, I think some degree of home sickness is beginning to set in. I know I missed Mom and Dad and the brothers after a few days away, and I missed the comfort of my old, familiar environment. Visiting was fun, but it was a relief to finally get home. I think Cole is in this stage of the trip now.
There are so many bad things going on in the world now, so many things going on in America that I do not like, and just different situations all across the board that could be better. News stories can leave a person so stressed, just hearing all of the bad that is happening, all the fighting around the world, the various natural calamities that are befalling the world. Yet with all of this, the Lord's blessing of children suddenly blots out all those maladies. Children see the bright things happen, the happy things, the half-full glasses, that we as busy, worried adults sometimes overlook, what with all the hustle and bustle of life, and all of the scary things that might befall us, according to the evening news. I thank God for all the kids, and I am glad to have this one little man visiting for July and into August. Thank you, and I am sorry for all you Sooners who now find yourselves new Texas citizens, according to my nephew.
Being busy is just part of having a visiting child in the home. Another part is the drastic change in the television program line-up, especially during the morning hours. I have relinquished the television (yes, we just have ONE television...and that is possibly ONE TOO MANY) to my nephew's whim (with guidance, of course). so I have bid a temporary goodbye to my usual shows such as Dateline, City Confidential, Disappeared, and many others of that mold. Gone, too, are the scary, if not cheesy, sci-fi and "horror" flicks that I enjoy, but which are best not viewed by a young and impressionable child.
Instead my daily repertoire now includes such intriguing shows as Wonder Pets, Transformer Rescue Team (or something like that), Jason and the Pirates (in Never Land with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee), and several other similar programs, the titles of which escape me at the moment. In any case, the television is busy for a couple of hours a day with these wonderful kiddie shows. I have to admit, the diversion from the real world afforded by these programs is actually quite welcome. Plus, I have the added pleasure of "bugging" my little friend while he is trying to wholly concentrate on his cartoons. You know, I sneak up and tickle him, ask him lots of questions about what we are watching, and generally "pester" him while he is in rapt concentration.
After a little while of watching the tube, I force my little charge to do other things, such as ride his bike, play outside, or even occasionally perform some little chore. While he does not spend the entire day in front of the TV set, there have been several times in the past few days when the temperature hit the triple digits, and it was just too hot to send him outside for extended periods. During the periods where he is indoors but has already watched his television allotment, I like to talk to him about his books and the things he has been reading about. For instance, he acquired a nature book just the other day from a local book sales event. From his reading, he was able to inform me that the Texas Great-Horned Lizard could be found all over Texas, including Oklahoma, which is located in the northern part of Texas. Somewhat surprised by this revelation, I mentioned to him that Oklahoma was in reality another state to our north. No, he was positive...Oklahoma was a city somewhere in Texas, and "horny toads" live there just like in the rest of the state. (Please, no one tell the Sooners they are a part of the great nation of Texas...let them stay in their blissful ignorance of this fact. Such knowledge would only bring extra complications for them during upcoming college football season.)
My little charge loves to ride in Clancy, which is my Jeep (well, strictly speaking it is my lovely bride's Jeep, but I do most of the jeeping in it). My own children were not that fond of Jeep rides as younger children, although nowadays they both like occasional short hops around town in it. Coleman (nephew) told me that he wanted to ride in the Jeep one day as we were about to leave for work. This particular day it was only 98 degrees, so the triple digit temperature threat had been dodged, although it was still somewhat warm outside. I mentioned to Cole that it would be a long, hot ride to town, but he said he was up to it. And he was! He liked the noisy, windy ride very much.
Being a smart young man for his age, he already knew that the air temperature would not feel as hot since we would be moving at a relatively fast clip. You know, he was right. The air felt not one degree hotter than 97 degrees!
This morning was another fun day with the nephew. Oh, he has his moments when he wants to do other than what he is told, or takes a little longer to get things done than is actually necessary, but most of the day with him is a pleasant summer day. I remember years ago when I was out of school for the summer and I would go to one relative or another for a few days or even two or three weeks. There was a trade-off, though. The days one is gone visiting relatives means that many fewer days one is at home to spend the school vacation with his friends. Yesterday Cole realized this very thing. So, I think some degree of home sickness is beginning to set in. I know I missed Mom and Dad and the brothers after a few days away, and I missed the comfort of my old, familiar environment. Visiting was fun, but it was a relief to finally get home. I think Cole is in this stage of the trip now.
There are so many bad things going on in the world now, so many things going on in America that I do not like, and just different situations all across the board that could be better. News stories can leave a person so stressed, just hearing all of the bad that is happening, all the fighting around the world, the various natural calamities that are befalling the world. Yet with all of this, the Lord's blessing of children suddenly blots out all those maladies. Children see the bright things happen, the happy things, the half-full glasses, that we as busy, worried adults sometimes overlook, what with all the hustle and bustle of life, and all of the scary things that might befall us, according to the evening news. I thank God for all the kids, and I am glad to have this one little man visiting for July and into August. Thank you, and I am sorry for all you Sooners who now find yourselves new Texas citizens, according to my nephew.
No comments:
Post a Comment