I really really needed something good this week.

Who knew it would come in the form of homework?

Howie’s first homework assignment was a family project.  “The turkey needs a disguise so he doesn’t get caught for Thanksgiving!  Return the disguised turkey by Monday, November 14th. “

Knowing that we had a hectic week coming up, I figured we should get this done sooner rather than later.  And by “we” I meant my husband Tim and Howie.

I figured that the vegan in the family would enjoy keeping the turkey from becoming table food.  In reality, he’s much better at all-things-crafty.  And all things cooking, cleaning, folding, etc.

Tim took one look at the turkey and said “I bet Howie wants to disguise him as a racecar driver.”

Sure enough, that was the plan.

The two of them sat down at the table and planned out their turkey costume.  Tim looked up pictures of racecar drivers on the internet and together they picked which one to copy.  A red helmet.  Checkerboard shirt.  Green pants (Howie’s favorite color).  And black boots.

They went to work.

Cutting out the shirt

Here was a kid who until just recently couldn’t sit down to do…much at all.  A kid who couldn’t cut along a line without getting frustrated.  A kid who couldn’t even hold a pencil the right way, let alone scissors.

The turkey gets "dressed"

I sat at the table with them, biting my tongue and fighting back tears.  They were working so well together, like a finely tuned car.  Tim was anticipating Howie’s every stumble and would head it off at the pass.  Howie reminded Tim of all that he could do and wanted to do by himself.

"You don't need to draw lines for me to cut the squares. I know where to cut"

Back and forth they chatted about the project, working as a team to decide where the next piece should go and why.

Now smash that glue!

Finally, the turkey was properly disguised.

Hey...where did the turkey go? Just a racecar driver here...move along...

That smile says it all.  Actually, both their smiles say it all.

Howie loved doing homework so much, that he asked to do more work at his work table before bed.  Could we say no?

Happy Veteran's Day!

It wasn’t that long ago that I thought he’d never write his name, color a paper, or cut with scissors.  And I know that it isn’t long before homework becomes a fight and a struggle, and not a joy.

But for right now, homework is a pretty cool thing in our house.  Inspired by a dad who knew how to make it fun, and not a hardship.  A “father and son thing”.  Pure cutting, pasting and coloring joy.  In my book, that’s all sorts of awesome.

I’ll take that today.

“There’s a man at my house he’s so big and strong
He goes to work each day, stays all day long
He comes home each night looking tired and beat
He sits down at the dinner table and has a bite to eat
Never a frown always a smile
When he says to me how’s my child
I’ve been studying hard all day in school
Tryin’ to understand the golden rule
Think I’ll color this man father
I think I’ll color him love
Said I’m gonna color him father
I think I’ll color the man love, yes I will” – Color Him Father by The Winstons

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