Skater Boy

The boys got roller blades for Christmas and after every present was opened, we began the process of trying them out. I was helping Jono in the hunt for proper socks, the adjustment of the skates, and the adding of layers for five or ten minutes. Meanwhile, D donned his blades of danger and propelled himself out the door and out of site.
Wobbly Jono started off in the grass getting his sea legs and generally being pleased with himself. About that time I started looking around for D and saw him hobbling around the corner with four adults; he was limping and holding a fat wad of paper towels on his knee. I met them halfway and the man carrying his skates told me he had heard D fall from inside his house! They had cut his pants leg away like a battlefield medic. I thanked the man whom I did not know and carried D home on my back like a wounded marine. Gratefully, he'll live to skate another day.

His remote controlled airplane also took a beating today. He took it to the school grounds down the street from Orangehouse for its maiden voyage; the abundance of trees on our street is like an army of Scrooge hands, grasping to steal away his Christmas smile. But at the school grounds, there are only a half dozen trees on the ten-acre plot; low tree density. But like a moth drawn to the flame, within five minutes the plane was resting in one anyway. That's when I first saw him, throwing rocks up in a tree in an ill-conceived plan to bring it back down.

Thankfully, all of his throws missed the plane. But unfortunately, one of them came down on his remote control and severely bent the antenna! Eventually, we got the plane down with a stick and resumed our holiday flight schedule. But the winds proved too much for us and after several hard crashes and a broken styrofoam engine mount (can you glue styrofoam?) we came back inside. Despite the mishaps, we had a lovely day and are grateful for so much. Tomorrow I will try out my new one-horsepower weed whacker; D isn't allowed to touch it!