Toby insists on accompanying Naomi and I to the bus stop each morning. Last winter he was content to sit in his highchair with some cheerios, but now he knows there's a big yellow bus coming out there, and he is not going to be left behind. I've tried, but decided it is not safe to leave him alone in a high-chair anymore if he's determined to get out. He's second only to Houdini. If Toby goes out Hannah and Emma insist on going too, and the weather is nice, so we all put on our sweatshirts and shoes and get an early morning field trip.
This morning Toby was doubly rewarded. Just after we waved good-bye to Naomi and watched the yellow "buh" disappear around the corner, there came a great, black, rumbling garbage truck! I squatted down behind Toby and wrapped an arm around him as the garbage truck pulled up just across the street from us, about 15 feet away. Now Toby's not intimidated by much--strange people who think they need to talk to him and his grandpa Johnson are a little scary--but he's ready to meet most of life's adventures. He stood riveted, his little heart pounding as the truck arm reached out, grabbed the garbage can, and dumped it into the dumpster on the front arms of the truck. Then the truck clanked and roared and began to lift the dumpster up over the top of the truck to dump it. Never taking his eyes from the truck, Toby backed as far up against my body as he could, reached back to grab my other hand, then wrapped my other hand across his body. With his double safety-belt in place he watched, breathless, as the trash dumped into that snorting black behemoth.
And there we sat, for the next five minutes, watching the truck move down the entire length of the street, until it we could barely see the little black box or hear its clamor. It was then that Toby found his voice. Solemnly, respectfully, he whispered, "Gar-gar-age!" It was sad to see it go--the rest of the morning is a complete disappointment for him now. He stands at the window watching, hoping. It may be a long week 'till next Tuesday morning.
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