The Real Opening Day
Jerked awake by El Oso hunting down his iPhone, pulled out of walking the streets of India, persuading rebellious older children from vandalizing stone buildings, yanking small green potato bulbs from walls like pop beads, discussing aversions to obeying traffic laws. Who knows, really.
Puck was already on the couch clipping confetti into a Daytimer box, gifted from Dad. Snip, snip, snip, thousands of tiny pieces: post-its, church bulletins, green file folders, Cardinals schedules.
It was gray out for Opening Day. Rain was falling steadily by this time.
A late lunch, caught an episode of “I Love Lucy,” at the end of Season Six where Lucy mows over the neighbor’s tulips. Puck was disgusted with Lucy’s lack of knowledge regarding fuel-based machinery:
“Cars are completely different from tractors. Don’t they know meteorology?”
He still cut the paper, carefully, piece by piece:
“Mom, I’m gonna stay out here for Quiet Hour and make more ‘shed.’”
The house had already been dumped upside-down by this ‘shed’ and all other Puck-things and ideas.
Later that afternoon, Puck elicited the help of neighbor friends to make more ‘shed’ on the cold front porch, sharing “Calvin and Hobbes,” swapping grown-up conversation:
“Your cat is so cute.”
“I know. She has a cat condo. She’s really spoiled.”
When friends disbarred to run errands with parents, Puck chalked the driveway, chomping oranges watching traffic, scooting through mud puddles on his Strider, directing cars past him when necessary, while I kept tabs from the window, and on the game. Multi-tasking at its best.
Puck soaked up in the tub, relaxing to the soothing sounds of “Adventures in Odyssey,” enjoying the moment:
“Mom, come check it out! The water’s great!”
After some Garfield, he lounged on the couch, unwilling to make the move towards bed-prep:
“Come on, Puck. Get moving.”
“Uhhhh… Wake me when moms are extinct… Kinda wouldn’t make sense though, ’cause then you couldn’t wake me.”
This kid knows way too much Garfield.
Puck’s Weekly What-do-You-Want-to-be-When-You-Grow-Up Status:
“Scientist and Inventor.”