He arrived late morning. The 5 year-old dynamo would be with me -baba- till dad picked him up later that day. There was a treasure trove of fun things to do, including school work, for this home-schooled child. He was beyond his years in all the markers used to assess little children, the easiest people to teach.
Little children and I mesh well. Did that indicate I was a child, too? Probably. As a child, I enjoyed being around older people. Nowadays, as a grandmother, I enjoy little people. The rules are simple- follow them my sweet. Discipline is not my game. It belongs to mom and dad. My job is to follow their rules where you are concerned, dear boy.
'Oscar' loves sports, numbers, rhyming words, running and dogs. Today we have 4 - mine and his with us. The ten-year-old retriever is running with Oscar, never letting up unless Oscar does, around the fenced area with a large cage inside. I watch them all. It is my job to keep both groups of excitable creatures from fighting or anything else that might surface. Time to go indoors for printing and reading. He recently turned five.
As an old lady I am ready for anything. My rules tell the story.
Living in the country can be a dangerous place, I remind my precious 5-year-old. Nothing is completely safe, anywhere, I continue. He understands. Trees and bushes abound. I begin picking up the twigs, large branches and other fallen 'debris' lying around
Wind has played havoc with the outdoor playground, recently. I need to remove the fallen stock from the ground. The unsightly green mess really bothers me. Always has. But now an idea comes to mind. “Would you like to clean this small area, my child, for $5.00,? He smiles - as he often does- and asks for $10.00” “Sorry” I reply. “The job is not worth ten”'. Good try, I thought. “Do the rest of the area nearby and you'll get $10.00” He agrees, happily. We work together as I show him that some jobs take two or more people to finish. Soon he stops. “I'm tired”. “Well that is unfortunate, I remark. No pay for a job half done”, I say. He smiles and begins again to finish.
The crisp ten dollar bill grabs his attention. Into his special bank account the money will go when dad arrives.
Oscar's entrepreneurial spirit says it all. He's happy to be here, running with the dogs, running out of breath and watching a Disney animal special about Lilly the gorilla. He wants to move, learn and eat
salmon. Easy to love and easy to please. His delightful hugs are the price of admission into baba's world. He's sold. And so am I.
