Jami and the Exciting Morning

This week, Eddie and I have been hanging out with another 2-year-old, sitting for him while his Grammy is out of town. The upside is that the boys can amuse each other, letting me have an unprecedented amount of sit-down time. The downside is that they are 2-year-olds which means they don't share well and they have micro-length attention spans (as opposed to me, who can pay attention to things sometimes as long as 4-5 minutes). Today, however, I learned just what it takes to keep them still and quiet for twenty-five whole minutes in a row. The answer is - landscapers. The boy we're sitting is even more fascinated with trucks than Eddie is with trains, and that's saying something. So when we heard a rumble outside, he made a beeline for the front door, pointing with great urgency until I opened it so we could see . . . . a parked pick-up with a trailer. Not moving. Engine off. Didn't matter. He was hooked. He'd watch it closely and every few minutes say his word for "truck" and point. I had to agree. "Yes. It's a truck" Eddie checked it out, but once he realized it wasn't doing anything, he moseyed back to the train table. Until . .. One of the guys in the truck took out a lawn mower. And then another. Soon two men revved the engines and were off. Both boys were riveted. I don't think they even blinked. After about 10 minutes, I begin to wish I had a book handy. I mean, there are times when it could be fun to watch someone mow a lawn. If the person mowing is particularly attractive, maybe. If they lost a bet and are wearing something ridiculous. If it's someone you hate and they are mowing the lawn on an unusually unpleasant day. Maybe. But not today. Watching someone mow the lawn is almost as boring as watching it grow. Unless you're two, apparently Then the men stopped and - gasp- emptied the bags into a garbage can. The boys cheered. Then the landscapers got out weed-whackers. Guess how exciting that is. Yup, almost as much as the mowing. Thank goodness the other mommy returned home after only about 25 minutes of this or I might have expired from the thrill. But hey, they were quiet and not fighting over a toy, right? Tomorrow I'm taking a book. If you have a truck or lawn mower, please feel free to drive by.