Round Two

The other day we were at a park and while Luke was playing soccer with his teammates, Zach somehow got clobbered with the ball. There was lots of crying and a tiny bit of blood on his lip, so we took him to our friend's house next door, where she made a little ice pack and held it gently up against his mouth. He sat there quietly with tears pooled in his eyes, until she lifted off the ice pack. Then he wiped away a tear, turned his little face up to her and said, "Can I see your water heater?"

Ladies and gentlemen (or "Ladies and mans," as Zach might say), we have another hazard light situation on our hands.

I think we're going to have to blame my dad for starting this one. He got Zach fascinated with the whole idea of having two water heaters in the basement. I think there's also the attraction of water going through pipes, and a plumbing system that is somehow related to the toilet. Exhibit A: Zach needed to visit the water heater several times during a visit to Grandma Bobbie and Granddad's house. Exhibit B: When he's going to sleep, he likes to run through the list of neighbors to talk about where their water heaters are located. Exhibit C: When I was reading "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" to him this morning, he was concerned because the illustration of the farmhouse did not include a picture of the water heater. Exhibit D (pictured): We were at the beautiful beachfront in Santa Barbara and instead of checking out the scenery he wanted to stay and listen to the water rushing through the pipes. (OK, Luke did too, but they're boys; what can I say?) The other day Luke was teasing him and told him that we had "water heater lollipops" for dessert, but now the problem is that Zach is continuing to look for them.

Oh, and Luke started first grade last week. How does he like it? Who are his new friends? How does he like his teacher? What do they do during the day? I don't really have good answers to these questions. After school he runs off with his friends and he hasn't spent much time on reflection. (This is basically a good thing, by the way, even though I'm dying for more information.) Also Zach started in the 3-year-old class, and two out of 10 boys are named Cassius. Go figure.

The other day I cleared off Luke's shelf in his bedroom, and besides finding a dollar and a months-old peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I found his long-lost magic wand. So on Sunday night at Grandma Bobbie and Granddad's house, Luke decided to put on a magic show. More accurately, he decided to "manage" a magic show, which involved directing his assistants to fall asleep or stop talking at the flick of a wand.

Luke was getting so much attention and applause that Zach decided to tell a story of his own. The story ended with, "...and then he fell into the...toilet!" When the story was met with awkward silence, Zach was undaunted. "Laugh about that!" he commanded the group. Another manager in the house. Great.