Is It Play or Punishment?
By Morley Hunt
@Morleyhunt (21588)
Canada
April 14, 2016 5:53pm CST
Tomorrow afternoon my crew is coming to spend the afternoon with grandma. (In other words, I'm babysitting!)
It's time to pick up all the small branches and twigs that winter has brought down on our large park like lawn.
In the fall, I conned this quintet to help me by having them throw twigs onto our burn pile (complete with embers from the previous day's fire) until it burst into flame. Suddenly they couldn't gather the sticks and twigs fast enough.
Tomorrow promises to be a pleasant day. If I light the burn pile after they get here, I'll bet my yard is cleared of twigs just as quickly.
Work or play? Either way, the job will be done by eager, willing hands.
17 people like this
17 responses
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
Thanks. We think they are a great bunch....sometimes we refer to them as the wrecking crew.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
They will be a lot of play. It will be up to me to make sure no children land in the firepit.
@marguicha (214294)
• Chile
14 Apr 16
Babysitting out grandchildren is work and fun
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
They are a bunch of live wires. I'll be exhausted when they leave.
1 person likes this
@AnneEJ (4917)
• Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, Quebec
15 Apr 16
They are all so cute and I am sure will be glad to help you, especially if it means a bonfire. Have fun
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
As soon as they see flames, they will all be eager to help me feed the fire. Last fall they picked up almost anything longer than three inches. And we have a lot of property with many, many sticks and twigs, not to mention the branches.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
@AnneEJ no pruning a here. This is all stuff that the wind and wintry weather brought down over the last few months.
1 person likes this
@AnneEJ (4917)
• Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, Quebec
15 Apr 16
@Morleyhunt I can still remember when we would gather the prunings from the apple trees in the orchard and Dad would make a bonfire.
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
They played outside, the picked up twigs. Then we made a big bowl of popcorn and they wanted to watch Disneys Mulan.
@miniam (9154)
• Bern, Switzerland
15 Apr 16
@Morleyhunt
Im sure you all had a lovely day and everyone is looking forward to next time
1 person likes this
@Hate2Iron (15731)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
I think that a lot of playing will be going on for all of you lol!
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
There were quite a few twigs picked up. The fire didn't want to catch, so by the time it was burning they had gone inside. We still had a gr at day.
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
This is the same crew that played Apple factory with the rotten apples this summer.
@crazyhorseladycx (39517)
• United States
15 Apr 16
gigglin'! sounds like a most brilliant plan to me'n i hope the weather holds fer ya. i'd see if'n ya'd send'em o'er to my neck'f the woods, but the weather's 'pposed to be plum awful - high winds'n all.
i'd call that play, those young'uns love a bit'f competition, lol.
@crazyhorseladycx (39517)
• United States
15 Apr 16
@Morleyhunt oh, i'd not wish our impendin' weather'n nobody :( i'm glad to hear that'cher gonna've a beaut'f a day though!
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
The weather is supposed to be perfect. Sunny and mild. As long as it's not to windy to have a bonfire we shouldn't have any problems.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
27 Apr 16
Tomorrow night I get all five for a sleepover until Friday night. Excitement galore.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
You are one smart grandma. I remember my parents doing that to us kids, if there was a fire, nothing is impossible.
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
My mother kept us close by in the summer when we were little. A garden hose dribbling some water. We didn't wander any farther than the hose would reach.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246452)
• United States
15 Apr 16
@Morleyhunt Perhaps a huge nap! My grandkids exhaust us!
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
A vacation sounds wonderful. Too bad it isn't going to happen.
1 person likes this
@just4him (303392)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
15 Apr 16
There's just something about a fire like that, that causes kids and adults to act like something amazing just happened and they will join in and have the time of their life.
@just4him (303392)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
15 Apr 16
@Morleyhunt And that's not a bad smell. I've always loved the smell of wood smoke.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21588)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
They will have a lot of fun and when I send them home they will all smell like they have been at a campfire.
1 person likes this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
18 Aug 16
More power to you if you can get them to help!
My oldest grandson like to destroy things so I often put him to chopping down weeds. The other day I put him on taking out the little trees that have been growing on the other side of the house.
@ramapo17 (30457)
• Melbourne, Florida
21 May 18
That sounds like so much fun. We use to do things like that when our grandsons would stay with us a few days. Enjoy every second of it as they grow so fast and now I don't see them much at all. The oldest is in the Navy and the youngest is in high school and live far away from us now as we moved to Florida and they are at the top of the state in New Jersey.
@JudyEv (323672)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Apr 16
As you imply, it doesn't really matter whether it's work or play as long as the job gets done. I think the children will regard it as play.