Mr. Can Do

Mornings at the Manning house start very early to my chagrin. I am most defiantly a night person. My children are all {with the large exception of Josie} EARLY risers. Like 5:30 a.m. risers!! I have found over the years that they {all except Josie} do better first thing in the morning. Well okay side note, and also a note for protection to whomever might enter this house at this insane hour, whatever time Abby wakes up give her a half an hour to sit. Don’t ask her if she’s hungry don’t tell her to straighten her room, unload the dishwasher, or even tell her you love her or give her a kiss good morning. Your life would be endangered. However after that she is very delightful and productive.

Last Friday morning as I laid in bed and thought it’s 6 o’clock and no one is up yet. Oh I jinxed myself. Next thing I know, McKay is pulling out his guitar. So up I get. Josie’s piano teacher came, and I’m still running around in my pj’s, and it’s 8:45. Practicing for two kids is done by this point and we’re half way through jobs, and another has just been dropped off for tutoring, ten min late. I sit down for JoJo’s lesson, and before I can take a breath Kimball is telling me something that is life and death for him. I quietly tell him, without hearing a word, to “talk to dad about it”. Next thing I know Craig comes to tell me he’s taking Kimball to work with him, he doesn’t really have a choice. I was beyond confused at this statement but trying not to interrupt the lesson, he said he’d call me a little later. Later never came so I called him and asked him what happened. Apparently Kimball’s life and death emergency was to tell me that it was time for HIS lesson. When I sent him to Craig, Kimball told him “Dad, I need to go to guitar lessons, I haven’t gone for a really long time, and it’s my turn. I have my guitar in the back of your jeep and we need to leave right now.” Craig had tried to kindly explain that he was on his way to work and that when he got back they would work something out. Kimball wouldn’t take no for an answer. He kept telling him he already placed his guitar in the jeep and it was now time for him to go to lessons. Craig had office work he needed to get done so he put Kimball on a computer next to him. Kimball spent a couple of hours playing PBS Kids, and having everyone bring him food. Not a lesson but heaven for a little boy.

Later on my sweet neighbor let Kimball borrow their “two wheeler” that has pedals. Kimball was so excited. He’s been cruising around last summer and this on his Kazam balancing bike, which he loves but was ready for more. Craig helped him drive it home. We were sitting on her grass in the shade and the next thing we heard was “BRAKES ON, BRAKES ON, BRAKES ON!” and screaming. Neither of us heard a crash or crying so I figured it was okay. Five minutes later Josie appeared on the deck, and said Kimball had had a crash. So up I got. When I got home everyone was shaken up except for Kimball. He was ready to get back out there. The story went like this: I just took him up to the stop sign {which is up a hill} and back and on the way home, he just kept picking up speed and I couldn’t catch up with him. He hit your car and went over the handlebars, the bikes fine but your car has some scratches on it. My anxiety hit. Is it bad? Yeah, a couple of pretty deep scratches.

And it does, bummer. But everyone was okay and the bike was fine. So we’re all good. I was worried that Kimball would be scared to get back on, so I loaded him, Josie, the bike, and the easy roller {yes the easy roller, Josie is still in her Peter Pan phase that will never end, and wont even ride her Groovy Girl bike with training wheels. Can you say Polar Opposites?!} into the car and headed to the park. I have never in my life met a more “can do” attitude. I am grateful, as long as it doesn’t kill me first.