Manifolds, Manolos & Manure...by Bona Heinsohn
In the past year, our big, little boy and our blue-eyed girl have grown tremendously. Together, they’ve scaled the treehouse- yes, we’ve literally found them sitting on the roof- and every slide in town. They’ve chased calves with their motorized toy tractor. Quite frankly no one’s toes are safe when either of them are in the driver’s seat.
The past year has undoubtedly highlighted their differences. Our blue-eyed girl is no longer the quiet little girl who entered the world one hot Father’s Day. Instead she bubbles about her day before tearing through her latest book. This week it’s The Magic Treehouse Adventure on the Amazon. The week before it was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. She’s all books. All Harry Potter. And all imaginary adventures even if it’s past her bedtime.
Our big little boy on the other hand has made noise from the hot night he entered the world. His books of choice are: I Dig and Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site. Clearly there’s a theme. If you need another hint as to the theme, his favorite movieis “Cat Power” and his favorite TV series is “Bob the Builder.” One of his favorite activities is moving hay bales with his grandpa’s Gehl. Strangely, his sister also loves the Gehl but she’d rather be driving it around the farm than simply moving hay bales.
Speaking of our blue-eyed girl, she still has her infamous “Macy” bunny. Fortunately, “Macy” hasn’t disappeared lately. She may be embarrassed; our blue-eyed girl does like to dress her up. Our big, little boy also has a bunny. Two of them actually, “White New-New” and “New Hosse.” Unlike his sister, he routinely loses his bunnies, usually in his Dad’s truck or under his own butt.
The same big, little boy who melts at the mere mention of his bunnies is all big and tough at the sight of his dad’s power tools. In fact, he’s learned to scale the truck and open the toolbox, but he still has problems loading the bit. Fortunately, I snuck into his room and hid his dad’s impact while he was sleeping last week. It was a struggle to remove since he sleeps with it under his arm but tools belong in the tool box not in the bed. Our blue-eyed girl on the other hand rarely wants anything to do with her dad’s tools instead she’d rather be hunkered down in her room playing with her American Girl dolls or be outside reading in the sun.
Every passing year has brought new challenges and new moments. At the end of every year, we silently ask for the opportunity to roll back time and live those same days over again.
Our children’s love of animals and the farm makes our heart swell. Like their dad and grandpa before them, we hope they want nothing more than milk a cow. Drive a tractor. Farm.