Tightrope Walking the Clothesline

Today my oldest son, (I like to think of him as "Edison II") decides he wants to help the world and "go green". I was very proud listening to him, and all of his well-thought out ideas. He is very bright (one reason I think of him as "Edison II") Me being the proud mommy I am, praised his ideas, and encouraged him to continue thinking in this direction, to help "save our planet".

A few minutes later I'm wiping up smashed bananas my one year old left all under her highchair "just for me" and the mixed in raisins and cheerios, when I hear someone rummaging through the garage. I look up and here comes Mr. Inventor himself, with a jump rope, one of my good bronze colored curtain poles, and a child-size broom in hand. "Where ya goin'" I ask. "I'm going to start washing all my laundry by hand in the bathroom sink, and make my own clothesline out back to hang them on" "Oh no I say, not with my good curtain pole!" Continues to tell me how all the windows in my home are already covered, and why do I need that one any way. "Don't I want to help save energy?"

We go back and forth like this for a few minutes, me trying to explain why his invention won't work, and him giving me reasons it will. It's at this point the home school teacher comes out in me, and tells mom she needs to step aside a minute, because after all, didn't Edison's mom help him and encourage him to "explore and create"?

So I tell him if he can find something else, I will allow him to try. He comes back with a piece of molding we bought a year ago to finish my one year old's bedroom. Now to him, he doesn't understand why we would need something we bought that long ago and never put up, it must not be that important, so I should let him use it. (He did not say it just like that, but I got the vibe) So back out to the garage he went.

He came back with a smile across his whole face, two identical rakes in one hand and a shovel in the other, with a piece of cable wire hanging over his arm. I concede, and he set out to create this clothesline. I go back to my cleaning, and one minute in, he calls me to the back door. He needs me to get the holes started for him. The grass is too thick. Now I'm thinking," this is my thick green beautiful grass, I'm about to dig into" Meanwhile, he finds a beetle, and takes it over to the back door to let it be free and crawl around the door frame. I get the hole dug, and go back inside to my dishes, and he calls a couple of minutes later. I don't answer, so I turn around and there he is...

"Can you please help me get the other one started mom?" I am busy I say, I thought you wanted to do this. "Please I just need you to start it, besides, you should wash the dishes by hand you know, it saves allot of energy and water" (Blasted TV!) I did not fuss at him, because he said this with a very earnest heart. So I go back outside, put the shovel to the ground, and take a hug chunk out of my beautiful grass. I look down and there's a HUGE grubb worm!! And of course we have to study it. (I'm thinking, "I guess my lawn isn't as healthy and beautiful as I thought" Not at all amused by this ugly creature!) I turn over the huge grass chunk and there it was, a nice big fat black cable cut clean in two!!! What could I do?! I turned around and went back into the house. Started loading the dishwasher again, and my hair is itchy! I rub the back of my hand across my ear area to ease the itch, and there it is again, I reach up with my wet hand and the BEETLE falls out of my hair!!!!! Into the dish washer!! So I kindly get a knife, and....

Next thing I know, here comes my little one, all covered in black dirt, going to take a bath. After he's all done, he comes through with his wet drippy shirt he just washed in the tub and hangs it on his home made, one-shirt-holding, clothesline. Even though a FEW times I felt like the "mommy-me" was walking an emotional tightrope, and there times I wanted to scream over this ordeal, I didn't because, he was so proud of himself, and even though it was allot of mess, so was I! He followed through and didn't give up!