![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Oct. 12th, 2002 05:30 pmYesterday was what looked like the last relatively warm day we were going to have for a while so I thought it would be a good idea to try and get the lawn mowed before it got too cold. I'd hoped to get started after Cate got home with the kids but she was running late (she'd stopped to get dinner). So I changed clothes and got started. I'd finished about a 1/5 of the lawn when the family pulled up and, as expected, Nathan insisted on helping.
Now, Nathan is a fine helper. He's attentive, follows directions well (for the most part) and generally does what I ask. Unfortunately, he likes to turn off the mower and is markedly slower than I am. What would take me 20 minutes takes an hour or more with his assistance. So it's in my best interest to not elicit his help, particularly when I need to get done in a reasonable amount of time. However, I usually end up getting help from him regardless. This time would be no different.
So, as the sun make it's ever-quickening dash for the horizon and Cate visited with the neighbors down on the corner, I tried to coax both the mower and Nathan to pick up the pace. We'd managed to get about twice as much done as I'd done before they got home when we had to stop to moved some stuff out of the way. As I turned off the mower and moved forward to get the drainspout and plant stand relocated, Nathan started pointing at my head then to his. After a bit of translation from two-year-old, I found out that Nathan wanted to wear a headband like the one I was wearing to keep the sweat out of my eyes.
So we came inside and I ran upstairs to grab another bandana and got it ready. Nathan, more than ready to copy Daddy, leaned his head forward to accept his new mantle of lawn mowing. Cate, obviously amused at the ongoing antics, simply laughed.
Now, Nathan is a fine helper. He's attentive, follows directions well (for the most part) and generally does what I ask. Unfortunately, he likes to turn off the mower and is markedly slower than I am. What would take me 20 minutes takes an hour or more with his assistance. So it's in my best interest to not elicit his help, particularly when I need to get done in a reasonable amount of time. However, I usually end up getting help from him regardless. This time would be no different.
So, as the sun make it's ever-quickening dash for the horizon and Cate visited with the neighbors down on the corner, I tried to coax both the mower and Nathan to pick up the pace. We'd managed to get about twice as much done as I'd done before they got home when we had to stop to moved some stuff out of the way. As I turned off the mower and moved forward to get the drainspout and plant stand relocated, Nathan started pointing at my head then to his. After a bit of translation from two-year-old, I found out that Nathan wanted to wear a headband like the one I was wearing to keep the sweat out of my eyes.
So we came inside and I ran upstairs to grab another bandana and got it ready. Nathan, more than ready to copy Daddy, leaned his head forward to accept his new mantle of lawn mowing. Cate, obviously amused at the ongoing antics, simply laughed.
