Takin' It Easy

A couple of days ago my mother-in-law, Kathy, called me laughing with a story about Andrew.  He was swathing wheat straw with his brother Benedict and decided to pull the machine over to the edge of the field and shut it down.  Steve ran over to see what the problem was and noticed that Andrew was just sitting in the cab munching on a bag of chips.

"What's wrong, Andrew?"

"Aw, nuthin' Dad, I've just decided to take life easy." 

You have to know Andrew, one of his best gifts is his sense of humor, his ability to bring LIFE into any situation, any event.

Yesterday, he staggered in, pulled my K-State frosty beer mug out of the fridge (you really need one of those around 5:00 p.m. on Friday), filled it with lemonade and put his feet up. Just then, I looked down at the stack of mail on the kitchen counter and laughed. Resting on top was a new Lands End kids catalog.  The boys on the front were perfectly groomed in their polo shirts and deck shoes.  The contrast between the photo and my son sitting in front of me was serious.

Andrew was covered from head to toe in dirt.  I knew that he had been helping his grandpa Bob fix a swather out in the shop, but all that dirt had to have come from somewhere else.  He told me he had been messing around and playing with George in one of the sheds (the floors are made of dirt).

Usually, when any of the crew comes in that grimy, they have to leave their dusty duds in the laundry room and scrub up a little.  But, I didn't mind that he had forgotten.  Honestly, I was tickled to see him so happy.

This is life UNPLUGGED.  Boys are meant to run, seek adventure, work on projects, build creations from their imagination, and GET DIRTY.  Video games and TV will never be a substitute, will never satisfy what is deep in the heart of a boy. They truly are meant to be wild at heart.  That day it really showed. (However, dirt has its limits.  We have to corral the wildness on occasion, and break out the polos and deck shoes!)