I know two little boys who will lose one of their favorite play locations when the sidewalk in front of their grandmother’s home is eventually repaired.
A cracked area with exposed soil and gravel may be seen as a negative for pedestrians, but it is a huge positive for Ryklan and Croix, who use it as a construction site for all their small pieces of equipment like dump trucks and backhoes.
As I was walking home from downtown Kendallville, I encountered them on their hands and knees engrossed in play in the dirt and pebbles. I couldn’t help but stop to take their photo and talk to Michelle Atz, their grandmother, who I have known for many years — but hadn’t seen in a long time. Michelle helps with the care of her grandchildren. It is so good to see children outdoors in creative play — far away from anything electronic. Not only were the two cousins playing with “heavy equipment” and cars in the dirt, they had it all — so to speak.
Occasionally they were taking breaks for imaginary fishing — they even offered me a small branch as a “fishing pole” — so that I could try. I told them that my husband loves fishing and I thought they wanted me to take home my fishing pole for Terry. But when I walked away with the fishing pole, they had second thoughts. I was happy to return it to them. Better than the fishing pole, was simply watching them and visiting with Michelle and her daughter, the mother of Croix.
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At dinner, Layla, 5, was playing restaurant with her parents.
Playing the server, she was telling them what’s for dinner and how to eat their food.
At the end, breaking server character, she said to her mom, “Mom, do you hear how I’m talking? Like a grown up, a grown up that knows everything?” Then she rolled her eyes! — Julie Carmicheal of Kendallville (the story was shared with Julie by their daughter Alecia Hudson
Many years ago we had four young children at home and a dog, Mitzi. I remember well when our youngest, Paul, was still crawling, and he and Mitzi would both be around my ankles as I was working and the chaos (and sometimes name mix ups) that ensued. Recently, Brianna Hayden of Kendallville posted something on Facebook that brought back those memories so clearly. So many moms relate. Brianna gave me permission to share her post which she illustrated with an action photo from Jurassic Park:
“Actual picture of me trying to keep Hezekiah away from the dog, Hazel’s food, and falling off furniture. Meanwhile keeping the dog from barking at the neighbors, eating Hazel’s food, and being touched by Hezekiah. And while keeping Hazel from hitting Hezekiah and/or accidentally feeding her food to the dog. Oh, and I’m reading a book.
“And often answering a taekwondo message. Regardless, I’m still abundantly blessed by this chaos.”
Note from Grace: In case you are wondering, I am not a dog lover. Our oldest daughter, Dorothy (Dolly) dreamed for years of owning a dog; she expressed her need for a dog incessantly and when she was 9 or 10 we got Mitzi. The column I wrote prior to obtaining Mitzi was headlined: “Doggone it! There’s a canine in our future.” Of course, we have a lot of happy memories involving Mitzi, but I must say having a very active dog and four children at the same time is very challenging, especially when one child is an extremely active toddler.
Thank you for your stories, by U.S. mail and email. When you share your stories and photos through this column, you brighten the lives of many people. Please email me at ghousholder@kpcmedia.com or mail stories to me at 816 Mott St., Kendallville, IN 46755. Also, please share this column with friends and family — I would love to hear from them, too.
