No Toys. No TV.

It reminded me of the hundreds of worms my husband had put onto hooks for me. I could never bear to do it for myself, or touch the horrid things. And yesterday he was at it again. Three fishing poles, three wiggly worms, three hooks. It would be a daunting task for any fisherman, especially when the three hooks are mobile and almost certainly unpredictable.

But the three small fishermen did not mind handling these worms. Oh, no - they wanted to handle them. And did. But at last, the worm would make its way into grandpa's capable hands, and expertly onto the hook. Then cast. Then handed to the child. 

There was a pause, as everyone watched their bobber. And then - a nibble.... a strike! a catch! A reeling in of wiggly fish. Three catfish (and maybe more - or maybe the same ones again -  we can't be sure) were caught and rejoiced over! 

Success is defined within the parameters of fish actually caught, and humans un-caught. There is a fine line.

After the fish had been caught and released, and after the row boat had been placed in the water, they four ventured out. Grandma sat waiting on the dock. She could hear their voices calling out as they floated around the bend, Grampa rowing in their midst. 

"BYE, Gramma!" someone shouted.

Before bed, the 4 year old and I snuggled up on the couch, flipping through some iPad photos of my trip.

Up popped some images of Scones, that highly favored of all commodities. She was most captivated by the sight of the jam and the cream, and gently touched the colorful pictures.

"Grandma, are you the SconeLady?" she asked.

"Yes, my darling. I am she."

"When are you going to make some scones? I would like some scones.." She looked up at me and smiled.

"Well then, you shall have some!" I replied. "Great Aunt has a recipe I am excited to make. Would you like to help?"

I saw from her face just exactly what she felt about 'helping'. "Oh yes, I would love to!"

And so, at some future point, the SconeLady will have Help - the kind of help that makes everything much nicer, and everything taste better.

If we think of future prospects in such terms as 'Good', 'Better', or 'Best', my vote is utterly biased and will go with 'Best', every time.


See you along the way!
the SconeLady