West to East
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry that you dropped your food, ant. Do you want to go right there now?”
I looked underneath the school playground picnic table where Puck and Yali were busy watching trails of ants carry leaves and food home for their evening dinner. We still had about an hour before Puck’s Education Exposition at six o’clock, killing some time before Oxbear brought us something to eat.
“Mom, can I take this little guy home?” Puck asked, letting one of the ants run around his finger.
“He shouldn’t be separated from his colony, Puck. I’m not sure, but I think he could die.”
Puck looked shocked. “Why?”
“Well, I guess ants can be like humans. If humans aren’t around other humans, they usually end up going crazy.”
This was a new thought to Puck. “Well, can I bring a few other guys back with him so he has some friends?”
A few minutes later, Oxbear rolled into the parking lot with Lunchables for the boys. For some light dinnertime entertainment, we watched a large dead pine tree pushed through a tree chipper across the parking lot.
It had been a long day. Here and there, back and forth, east and west, and back east again. Some Irish stew and biscuits back at the Big House between running. A few choking-tight Yali hugs, which are some of the best. Lately he runs up to my leg, grabs on tight, and announces himself:
“HUG!”
Or something that sounds sort of like “hug” anyway.
Also, Yali was now a little more toy-rich after Big J brought his old lights-and-sirens firetruck to school as a gift for the little guy, which was a big hit.
Now we were just waiting around a little bit longer to hear Puck present his endangered species report before the concert.
Meanwhile, both boys were sweating bullets as they dug into boxes of turkey, cheese, and crackers. Actually, all three boys were sweating bullets by the time dinner had concluded.
And then it was eight o’clock. Puck had just finished the 1st-3rd grade concert, belting out his one line from the top row with all the usual Puck loudness his voice naturally possessed. No microphone needed.
To celebrate the evening, Oxbear stopped with him for ice cream on the way home while I drove Yali and his very active firetruck back home to hit the feathers.