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Jumping the Ditch


Because I was born 10 days after the cut-off date for first graders, I was sent home on the third day of school. Fine. The Mama had her hands full caring for Baby Sister and figuring out the new house that we had moved into about a week before school started. That meant I got to go with the Daddy for part of the day. Great!

The Daddy irrigated the rows upon rows of crops on the valley floor. During  his morning break, the Daddy came home to fetch me. I'd get in the car with my Golden Books, coloring books, and crayons and down the hill we would go. While the Daddy worked, I entertained myself with my books and when that became tiring, I'd wander and explore, but never too far from the car and always where the Daddy could see me. We'd go home for lunch and sometimes I'd get to go back with the Daddy.

A ditch stood between the fields and the car. It also separated me from the Daddy. Without help, I could not get over the ditch, especially when it was filled with water. One day, I decided to get over the ditch. Yup, that day it was full of water.

I jumped.  Wheeee! I landed safely on the other side.

I turned around and jumped back. Then I jumped again. Back and forth I went.

Splash!

Before I knew what happened, the Daddy pulled me out of the ditch. I was not hurt.

"Your mom is going to be mad," the Daddy said in his quiet-like voice.

I looked down at myself all wet and muddy. Oh-oh.

From that day on, until we moved again, I stayed home with the Mama and the Baby Sister.
I'm participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge this month. To check out other participants, click here. See you tomorrow.  

Comments

  1. Oh I did the same thing-jump across and not make it but ohhhhhh what fun. It seemed dangerous and something one should not do which means one must do it:) 5 days...ouch

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  2. First of all, I like it that you call him "the daddy". We call our grandson (who we adopted), "the boy". We also had ditches with water and I can't think of one of us who at one time or another, misjudged the distance. This post made me laugh.

    http://yeakleyjones.blogspot.com/

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  3. Oh the things we did to occupy us as kids! You bought back memories of me and my brothers jumping over puddles on rainy days... coming home soaked!

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  4. Golden Books, Paper, Crayons and a field to play in . . a little bit like heaven, right?
    It's part of the why you are such a good story teller now . . . I always enjoy my visits to your blog.

    Thank You Very Much!

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    Replies
    1. I appreciate your comment, Maggid. It gives me a tingle of joy. :-)

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  5. It'd be irresistible for a kid though.

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad I didn't resist. I like to think that the Daddy was glad, too.

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  6. I started kindergarten when I was four and then turned five in September of that year, but the cut-off date back then was turning five by December 5 or so. Some people were told their kids were too young for Kindergarten just because they were a couple of days behind the cut-off, which I thought was silly. I think if a child is capable of sitting in class and learning, then they should be able to start school.

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    Replies
    1. There's got to be a better way than an arbitrary date to determine when one is ready for school. As it was, the powers that be decided I should jump from second to third grade in November. Sometimes I think that was a poor decision. To this day, I can still see me being confused doing my 3rd grade English homework and struggling with the concept of fractions and borrowing in subtraction. Ah, but dealing with challenges is what makes one stronger. Yup.

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  7. And no-one can ever take that moment away from you ... :D

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    Replies
    1. That's for sure. Whenever we take a drive to Cienega Valley, I can see little Susie out there jumping the ditch.

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  8. Fun. I have a puddle story too from childhood. : )

    Aloha! Maui Jungalow

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  9. I'm so envious of your drawings with each post! Very well done. My son was supposed to be our illustrator for our book, but so far, he's not producing a whole lot!

    Visiting via A to Z from Pass the Sour Cream. Co-Author (with my sons) of The Secret of Kite Hill.

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Thanks for the good cheer. :-)

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