Hurricane Ike

Aaaaahhhh, the sight of neighbors helping neighbors, the sound of chainsaws, the smell of burn piles, and the sound of whining children being forced to work...just a few of the things I witnessed Saturday. We went up to my mom's to help cut down some fallen trees and of course brought Zachary along.

We explained in the car we were going to help Granmommy and Pops cut down trees and he would be helping too. He immediately told me, "I am retired from helping" (a little confusion with the use of 'retired'). I tried to explain that we needed to help our family and that sometimes we just do things for the satisfaction of helping. More whining. Then John chimed in, "Are you a big boy or a little boy?" Zachary responded that he was a big boy, so John added "then you can help." Zachary then said, "But big boys play with toys." As the trip progressed, he whined about the idea of helping.

When we arrived, he actually did a great job once I pryed him away from Granmommy. I think he thought she might save him. Some of the other complaints were, 'It's hooooot!'; 'My shirt is sweaty'; 'it's (branch) too heavy'; and 'ouch, it (pine cones) hurts my hands.' Most of the time I could re-direct him by singing an old church hymn.

Thirty wheel burrows full, and we finally finished up. We were all tired, but glad to have helped. We treated ourselves to Chic Fa La, and headed home. In the car, we praised him and then informed him of how he would be helping unload pumpkins at the church Pumkin Patch. More whining, but I figure this is good practice for UM ARMY, and one more thing for me to pray about regarding Zachary's social skills. 8-)