Summer Helper

Our grandson spent time with us this summer. At first I felt a little overwhelmed at the thought. After all, it's been a long time since we had a little boy staying with us. Little boys are noisy and have lots of spare energy. I wasn't sure I would remember what to do.

So before he came, I made a list of all the things we could possibly do with our time. The list included a few chores to help me, but also included what I considered would be fun things he could do.

It didn't take us long to fall into a comfortable routine where he knew what was expected, and we remembered successful strategies for that age.

He woke every morning full of energy and ready to help. Turns out he is strong enough to carry two gallon jugs of water out to the chickens. I struggle with that at times. He liked to open the coop doors and feed the chickens. Then while I was working in the garden, he would ride his bicycle down the driveway to the gate and back. He sometimes helped feed the goats and dogs. 

Later in the morning he would play quietly while I ate my breakfast and got my work done. He worked on school summer homework and drawing. He liked creatively building things with Legos and Lincoln Logs.

Some afternoons, we would need to go somewhere, and he learned that he enjoyed listening to podcasts in the car. His favorite one being, The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, because he likes robots. He also liked to read. So we visited a few libraries nearby and benefited from their summer programs. 

The time seemed to go by quickly, and before I was quite ready, it was time for him to go home.