| General Non-Fiction posted September 6, 2025 | Chapters: |
...32 33 -34- 35... 
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Antic of a five year old.
A chapter in the book Reminiscing
Chapter 28 Eleanor - Labor Day
by barbara.wilkey
| Background 'We don't remember the days; we remember the moments.' By Italian poet Cesare Pavese |
Chapter 28 Eleanor - Labor Day Weekend
Eleanor is my youngest granddaughter. She turned five years old on July 29th. Andrew, my son, and Katie are her parents. She has a sister, Charlotte, who is now seven. I've written about this family before, but this time, I'm mainly writing about Eleanor.
Eleanor is a bright child who keeps life interesting. She started kindergarten in August. I'm not worried about Eleanor, but her teacher. Charlotte had the same teacher, so I'm pretty sure Eleanor isn't what this poor lady expected.
Some of you may have read previous posts about Eleanor attempting to convince her dad to get a dog, because the car next to them at a stoplight had a dog in the window. (Chapter 1). Or maybe the time Katie mentioned New Hampshire, where she was raised, and Eleanor heard they were getting a hamster, (Chapter 7). Katie and Andrew did get the girls a dog, Phoenix, (Chapter 19)
I'll start by addressing the photograph which was taken last weekend. Both Andrew and Katie are very athletic and do a lot of outdoor activities. The family went on a hike south of St. Louis. I don't remember the name of the nature park. It had long trails and rocks the girls thought needed climbing. By the end of this hike, Eleanor melted, and this is a photograph of her melting before she could get into her car seat. Charlotte is in the background.
Before the girls were born, Andrew and Katie camped a lot and are anxious to get back to it. At the beginning of the summer, they tried camping in the backyard, to see how the girls would do. They made it for two hours. There were a lot of scary noises.
Last weekend they tried it again. Andrew and the girls set up the large tent. He set up a low cot that has a mattress on it for Katie. She has back problems. Andrew went over to start a fire in the fire pit and saw Eleanor jumping on the mattress.
He called for her to stop. When she didn't, he went to the tent to enforce her stopping.
Eleanor looked at her daddy with all the innocence and her ornery grin and said, "Daddy, you know me and know if there is a mattress I'll jump on it. So, this is your fault. You knew better than to leave me with a mattress."
Eleanor stopped jumping and a time out was enforced. That ornery grin and innocent face didn't work this time or did the sass.
Andrew's comment to me was, "So Mom, that's what I've got working for me."
On Monday they went to a St. Louis Cardinal baseball game. I can't wait until our FaceTime meeting tomorrow, Sunday, to hear about it.
I had more to write about, Eleanor and this summer vacation but this was turning into a novel chapter, so I will post more about Eleanor later.
Eleanor is my youngest granddaughter. She turned five years old on July 29th. Andrew, my son, and Katie are her parents. She has a sister, Charlotte, who is now seven. I've written about this family before, but this time, I'm mainly writing about Eleanor.
Eleanor is a bright child who keeps life interesting. She started kindergarten in August. I'm not worried about Eleanor, but her teacher. Charlotte had the same teacher, so I'm pretty sure Eleanor isn't what this poor lady expected.
Some of you may have read previous posts about Eleanor attempting to convince her dad to get a dog, because the car next to them at a stoplight had a dog in the window. (Chapter 1). Or maybe the time Katie mentioned New Hampshire, where she was raised, and Eleanor heard they were getting a hamster, (Chapter 7). Katie and Andrew did get the girls a dog, Phoenix, (Chapter 19)
I'll start by addressing the photograph which was taken last weekend. Both Andrew and Katie are very athletic and do a lot of outdoor activities. The family went on a hike south of St. Louis. I don't remember the name of the nature park. It had long trails and rocks the girls thought needed climbing. By the end of this hike, Eleanor melted, and this is a photograph of her melting before she could get into her car seat. Charlotte is in the background.
Before the girls were born, Andrew and Katie camped a lot and are anxious to get back to it. At the beginning of the summer, they tried camping in the backyard, to see how the girls would do. They made it for two hours. There were a lot of scary noises.
Last weekend they tried it again. Andrew and the girls set up the large tent. He set up a low cot that has a mattress on it for Katie. She has back problems. Andrew went over to start a fire in the fire pit and saw Eleanor jumping on the mattress.
He called for her to stop. When she didn't, he went to the tent to enforce her stopping.
Eleanor looked at her daddy with all the innocence and her ornery grin and said, "Daddy, you know me and know if there is a mattress I'll jump on it. So, this is your fault. You knew better than to leave me with a mattress."
Eleanor stopped jumping and a time out was enforced. That ornery grin and innocent face didn't work this time or did the sass.
Andrew's comment to me was, "So Mom, that's what I've got working for me."
On Monday they went to a St. Louis Cardinal baseball game. I can't wait until our FaceTime meeting tomorrow, Sunday, to hear about it.
I had more to write about, Eleanor and this summer vacation but this was turning into a novel chapter, so I will post more about Eleanor later.
 Recognized |
Thank you Andrew for sharing this photograph of the girls with me. I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed the story. I'm not sure I did it justice.
What scares me the most about Eleanor, is my son swears Eleanor is a miniature me. I disagree strongly.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. What scares me the most about Eleanor, is my son swears Eleanor is a miniature me. I disagree strongly.
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