The EYES have it!: Day 296 ~ Fire It Up

October 23, 2014

My Instead: I had my grandsons Tyler and Danny over for a bonfire and also for the challenge of doing head stands.

No school on Friday! And you know what that means? My grandsons Tyler and Danny can do a “spend the night” at Grandma’s house on Thursday night. And the subliminal message here was that their mom got a night without kids and homework. This looked like a win-win combo to me.

I told the boys that I would pick them up in the early evening and also to dress warmly. Why? I was planning to have a little bonfire in my backyard and tell spooky ghost stories. Roasting hot dogs and creating s’mores were sure to be part of the evening as well. After a trip to the store for the necessary grocery items to make this all happen, we arrived at my house to unload. Before the bonfire, I suggested another activity that I had been dying to try with them…learning to do a head stand. Danny needed no lessons. With his wiry frame and muscle tone, he was steady on his head with his first attempt. Tyler, on the other hand, has a bigger frame and more bulk to lift. He’s not heavy, by any means, but his muscles and coordination were not enough to get him up. The intimidation of Danny’s ability was not encouraging him either. I think Tyler and I will try this sometime when Danny’s not around.

After that questionably fun time, we went outside to get the fire started and prepare our feast of hot dogs and s’mores. Since I was the oldest one there, these two humans (fifty years my junior) were the go-fers when I needed something. Needless to say, they weren’t used to me NOT waiting on them, but they adapted quite well. We eventually told a few stories, none of which scared us enough to make us head for the hills and escape to the safety of the great indoors. We basically called it a night because they were chilled…they apparently did not dress warmly, as previously advised by their grandma.

Once we were warmed up inside, I got them to settle in onto their respective couches. I bestowed hugs to both and then slipped away into my room to settle myself into my own little haven…surrounded by the sweet lingering smell of the fire and anointed with the sheer delight of my latest "instead".