Lucan loves sliding down the steps in his sleeping bag. The thrill of speed and bumps on his bottom never grow old. His mother will often find him on rainy days going up and down the stairs for hours. One day Lucan learned a hard lesson in honesty and work.
It was another rainy April day, and Lucan was at his favorite spot in the house. His mother was busy in the living room editing a new landscape. She is an incredibly gifted photographer and works diligently at her craft.
Lucan would stop from time to time at the bottom of the stairs in complete joy. The euphoria of another successful adventure enveloping him. His ears heard the clicking and typing of his mother in the next room. Lucan knew exactly where mommy was.
As Lucan sat there in a pile of fluffy comfort, he came upon a brilliant idea in his head. What if he put more blankets on the steps so he could go faster? His feet quickly said yes and his body followed as he scampered off to find suitable partners for his plan.
Upon finding more fuzzy friends, he tossed them wildly on the steps and hurried to the top to enjoy his brilliant ambition. He scooted into his sleeping bag with his cozy dinosaur socks and spongebob underwear. It did not take long for Lucan to whisk his way to the bottom of stairs and feet first through the drywall.
Thankfully, those dinosaur socks and fluffy sleeping bag protected his feet from injury. The same could not be said for the drywall; Lucan 1, drywall 0.
As Lucan lay there in wonder at what he had accomplished, his ears captured the silence in the living room. His ears also pricked up at the scurrying steps of his mother. When she came around the corner her eyes were a mixture of amusement and, concern. Lucan stared at his mother intently and looked for her eyebrows to move. Every child knows what his parent is thinking based on what their eyebrows decide to do. When her eyebrows raised slightly with the smile that warmly comforted Lucan, he smiled back.
"How much money have you earned doing chores this month Lucan?" The smile on Lucan's face began to sag a little. He realized the new nerf gun at Wal Mart was not as close as it used to be. "I have 15 dollars mommy." "That's good Lucan. You and daddy can go to the hardware store on Saturday then. May you clean up your sleeping bag and blankets for me? You and I need to start making lunch." Lucan grimaced a little that his play time was over, but he was glad there was not a paddle going on his bottom. He slowly stood up and obeyed his mother as she walked off to start the spaghetti.
Upon joining his mother, Lucan had one thing on his mind other than cracking noodles into smaller pieces. "Mommy, can I slide down the steps after lunch?" She turned and responded, "when you help daddy fix the hole you created you go down the steps again." Lucan realized he would have to wait a whole day to slide again. His face slumped a little but once he heard the first crack of the noodles, his childlike wonder kicked in.