Day 11.207: Exile #2's Sunday Column #215

Exile #2 writes...

There is much that we love about our town and our neighborhood, but perhaps the best thing is the way the kids play together outside. They scooter, they bike, they wrestle and pile on top of each other, they play tag, they poke about in the woods. E5N1 is on the upper end of this group age-wise, but he doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, when the doorbell rings (which it does frequently) he is just as happy for it to be our neighbors’ six year old daughter, as he is for it to be one of the boys from the cul-de-sac (dead end street!) round the corner. Their playing is usually good humored, although sometimes it gets a little hairy. I decided to go out and sit on the step the other day when some vigorous arm bending was taking place, preferring to avoid a dislocation on our property!

Ed: mostly unrelated picture of E5N1 excited about a vegetable!

Of course, there is the small matter of finding E5N1 at vital moments, like mealtimes, but he’s getting better at anticipating this. Perhaps a klaxon would remedy the situation? Or maybe just a shrill whistle. At the end of last week, he was gone for much of the day, having gotten involved in the classic American hustle - the lemonade stand. They started out with iced tea actually, but diversified into lemonade and cookies later on. Then they divied up the takings (I suspect their supplier didn’t do so well in this deal - although she probably enjoyed some peace and quiet along the way) and parted as happy entrepreneurs.