Twenty Four Hours

Tony played with his toys inside while Maria dealt with routine household tasks. He was blessed with a rich imagination, and his attention span was incredible. Maria shook her head unbelievably when she checked on him. He had several of his stuffed toys reclining over various pieces of the living room furniture. Standing in the doorway, she smiled as he talked to them in an accent that was spot on for the Mallards, and from what she could gather, he was planning autopsies on both the giraffe and tiger.

Tony was jumping up and down with excitement at snack time, knowing that not only was he going to be given cookies, but that his abuela would allow him the one television program she let him watch during the day, Sesame Street. He raced through the couple of chores attached to snack time- putting his toys in the living room toy box and putting his glass and plate in the sink by himself, and then settled gleefully to watch the Count, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and the rest. He was an enthusiastic participatory audience, and counted and sang as the Sesame Street characters instructed.

Maria allowed him to play in the back yard afterwards. He amused himself attaching his wagon to his tricycle and driving it at a fast pace around the fenced yard until he was called to lunch. He kicked off his shoes as he entered the laundry room from the outdoors, as he had been taught, and hung his jacket on one of the hooks his father had installed at his level.

At lunch Maria told him they would be joining their weekly group of friends for storytime at the library later in the afternoon. Tony loved books, and in fact, attended both the English storytelling and the Spanish storytelling sessions on Tuesday afternoons. It was welcome news, and he spent the rest of lunch talking about some of his friends in the groups, and speculating on the types of books that would be read. Maria listened to him indulgently.

Once they cleaned up after lunch, Maria pointed to the kitchen clock. "What time is it, nieto? Que hora es?"

Tony scowled and turned deliberately so that his back was to the time. "Abuela, no, no, no, no- I am not sleepy. I want to stay up!"

"No, Bambino, this is naptime now. You have to get a rest so that we can have fun at the library later."

Tony puffed out his lip but didn't argue further. Maria took his hand and led him upstairs. Pausing at the bathroom door she prompted him, "What do you do now, Nieto?"

Tony sighed and used the toilet, then washed his hands and brushed his teeth. Maria let him do it all by himself, but before he climbed off the stool, covered his nose with a tissue and ordered, "Blow."

In his room, Tony chose a teddy bear as a nap companion, and climbed into Maria's lap. She rocked slowly and sang softly, a Spanish lullabye. Within a couple of minutes Tony's hand dropped from where he had been rubbing her hair, and she looked down to find him completely asleep. She didn't move right away, but continued to rock and hold him, reflecting over the love she had for the little baby.

The library was its usual hit, and Maria allowed Tony to choose two books to check out afterwards. He went through them thoroughly on the drive home, commenting on the pictures and creating his own interpretation of the story around them as she drove. Once home, he begged for her to read them both before she started supper, and laughing, she did. Then while she began the evening meal, he sat on the kitchen floor and coloured in one of his many colouring books.

Looking up suddenly he asked suspiciously, "When does the ice cream truck come, Abuela? Remember I get to buy an ice cream by myself."

She nodded, "Yes, you do, Antonio. This is Tuesday, though, and the ice cream man does not come until Thursday, Jueves."

The answer satisfied him, and he turned his attention back to his artwork. Ripping out one sheet, he jumped up and brought it to her at the stove. "I made you this, Abuela! Te amo."

"Te amo," she replied, "and gracias. What have you made me?"

"This is a train, see? It says, choo choo!" Tony pointed out the wheels and the identifying markings of the train.

"You did a good job. Now, go sit back down and write your name on the top- right here- for me."

Tony took it back, sat down, and carefully printed T-o-n-y across the top before returning to her side. She took it from him and kissed him, then fastened it to the refrigerator with a magnet. "W e will show this to Daddy when he gets home from NCIS." Tony smiled, then dragged his chair and booster seat to her, so that he could help her cook.

Smiling his megawatt smile at her he asked, "This is what we do every day, right, es verdad Abuela?"

She nodded, then kissed the tip of his nose. "Yes, Antonio, this is a day in the life of the best little boy in the whole, wide world."