A Piece of Pea-gravel

Piece of gravel

The school children in my neighborhood almost unfailingly kick the gravel on my yard whenever they come that way, usually after a long school day. I cannot comprehend what pleasure they derive in that action.

I explained to one kid--"Hey! I paid money for that gravel, you know. A lot of money. I spent close to three hours trying to select the gravel. So,boy! stop throwing my gravel onto the street. I am gonna have to talk to your mom about this".

My mind raced back to a saturday morning in May, when me and hubby rushed to the rock and gravel store having skipped our breakfast. The store was only open until midday on saturdays. The reason for the rush was that the following week our landscaper had set up an appointment to come and spread the gravel. He had told us, " you know, next week it is gonna be cooler, so I might be able to get it done. If you wait longer, it would be hot and I can't promise to do it this summer".

After spending nearly three hours at the store with grumbling stomachs, we agreed upon the grey pea gravel for the center part and the earthtone larger ones for the rest of the yard. The pea gravel looked cute with rounded pea shaped pebbles that had numerous tinges.

After my talk, the boy promised never to do that. It was just that it had been a bad day at school. His teacher had given a note to his parents as he did not turn in his homework on time.

"I have done it but left it at home" , he told the teacher. But she wouldn't take the excuse. That would bring his semester grade to a B , and now his parents were going to be upset which would result in a cut in playstation time. He told me that his favorites were the Gran Turismo4 and the Armored Core games on playstation. " My parents won't budge even if I promise to take a few extra chores around the house", he said with tearsdrops threatening to fall from his eyes.

Boy!! No wonder the kid was upset. " Here, Can I get you a chocolate chip cookie or may be a cup of hot cocoa?" I asked.

I saw a faint smile as the kid reached down to pick up the piece of gravel and throw it back into my front yard.

" Thank you Maam. My name is Joe and I live on the house with the red roof on the cul-de-sac. If you ever need your newspaper or mail picked up or your plants watered when you leave on vacation, I will be happy to do that for you maam. And you don't need to pay me, maam."

"What a sweet kid", I thought to myself. All I did was just offer my sympathetic ear and he opened up with such generosity!

Most kids these days seem to need just that these days. Gone are the days when we returned from schools, there will be a grandparent or uncle/aunt to give us some time to vent out our frustrations that built up through the schoolday.

 

Dear Mals,

Thanks Mals. Being the eldest comes with a lot of responsibility, right?
I am the youngest, so was always sheltered. My mom was always at home when I returned from school, although I can't say that for my kids. But I would always listen to how their day went.

 

Dear Cheeniya sir,

when I logged on this morning, I could not believe my eyes! Thank you so much for visiting and writing a valuable FB. I am on cloud 9 now reading it.
Thanks to the gravel-kicking boy for bringing you here!

 

Dear Oviya

Thank you for the sweet words. I just wrote what I had observed. In our neighborhood, a few years ago there were a bunch of boys in the age group 6-7, including my son. Today they have all grown up into young teenagers and busy with their own activities and driving to school. It is so hard to believe they have all grown out of their silly pranks.
You are very kind to describe it as masterpiece, although I am still struggling to create a piece.

 

Dear Rama

You are absolutely right about some kids facing far more problems than they can handle. I have the experience of managing a tutoring center for a decade and a few more years of teaching experience in schools. I have been stunned by a lot of things some kids go through and how they are left to deal a lot on their own. I can one day recollect and write a book about all the different students and their different situations.
My son's classmate, upon turning 17 and in his senior year chose to live separately rather than with either of his parents because both had problems. He worked in a grocery store after school to support himself.He is such a sweet, well mannered kid that my heart used to ache for him. This year, with a scholarship he has joined a local college.