Six-year-old's Summer

“You’re lucky you get to stay home and enjoy the nice weather,” Daddy said to Jacob as they stood on the back porch admiring the green grass and breathing in the rich summer smells. “I have to go into my office all day. I’m going to miss you.”

Jacob leaned against Daddy’s leg to show he would miss him too. Playing in the backyard was more fun together than alone. Daddy tussled Jacob’s hair and said enviously, “Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone. And listen to Mommy. She’s watching from the window.”

Daddy finally dragged himself away from the goodbye, walked back into the house, and was gone. Jacob waited a few second in case Daddy changed his mind about leaving, and then he took careful steps off the porch deck and onto the lawn.

The backyard was the family’s enclosed piece of paradise. The wooden deck was perfect for outdoor meals and held umbrella-covered lounge chairs and a grill. Colorful flowers bloomed in beds next to the wooden fence surrounding the property. A shady peach tree grew in one far corner and the other corner held a chicken coop with three chickens. Jacob watched two birds land in the peach tree’s branches and wondered what he should do first.

Given the choice, he would have preferred staying inside with Mommy as she tapped at her computer. Sometimes she left the TV on and Jacob would watch familiar shows. While he was inside, he did not need to worry about getting too hot and he was always close to drinks and snacks. But Mommy and Daddy thought it was healthier for a six-year-old to be outside in the sunshine, so as long as the weather was nice, he spent lots of time in the backyard. Some of his toys were on the lawn. He picked up a red plastic ball and climbed back up the porch steps. He dropped the ball to see how far onto the grass it would roll. Retrieving and dropping the ball felt like a game, so he repeated it fifteen times. Then he turned his attention to the underside of the porch deck.

The deck’s wood planks were raised off the ground and Jacob was small enough to crawl under them. The space was cool and dark and filled with interesting bugs and old leaves blown in by the wind every autumn. This was a secret spot no one else visited. Jacob hid treasures here without fear they would be discovered. As he lay on his belly, looking out at the bright green lawn, he pretended he was hiding from a bear like he had seen on TV. He crawled forward a few inches and listened for bear sounds. Then he crawled a bit more. Eventually, he got tired of the hiding game, crawled out from under the deck, and shook off the dirt and leaves.

He emerged just in time. Mommy opened the back door and walked out onto the deck. She did not like him hiding beneath it, so he hurried up to her like he had been innocently playing elsewhere.

“Ah, there you are, Jacob. Mommy didn’t see you in the window and I was getting worried. What have you been doing?”

Jacob was ready to tell her about the ball dropping game and maybe get her to play, but she did not wait for his reply.

“It’s so nice to get some fresh air,” Mommy continued. “I’m tired of looking at my computer and talking nice to people on calls. I’m going to sit out here for just a minute.”

Mommy reclined on one of the deck’s lounge chairs and wiggled her body downward until her face was covered by the shade of the overhead umbrella. Jacob sat on one of the chairs, too, and listened to Mommy tell a story about her forgetful boss. After a few minutes, she stood up.

“Mommy needs to go back inside. You keep playing out here. Why don’t you find some butterflies? I’ll be watching from the window.”

After Mommy disappeared, Jacob obediently walked along the fence on the yard’s righthand side. He looked for butterflies and ladybugs among the flowers. He spotted three of them before reaching the corner of the yard next to the chicken coop. Over the usual noise of chicken clucking, he heard kids laughing on the other side of the fence. He also smelled something delicious – fried hamburgers and hot dogs.

“Hello! Who’s over there?” Jacob called.

No one answered, but a yellow balloon floated over the fence as if it was an invitation to a party. Jacob had no doubts people were having fun without him. He needed to get to the other side immediately.

Mommy and Daddy constantly told him not to leave the yard. Their words did not mean much because even if Jacob wanted to escape, there was no way out. Jacob had searched for openings in the wooden fence and swinging gate and found nothing. But until the arrival of the party on the other side, he had no real urgency to get out. Now that it was more important, he was determined to find a way. When it came to breeching the fence barrier, he had three choices: over, under, or through.

Jacob looked up to the top of the fence which was stained a natural wood color. Mommy and Daddy always complimented his jumping skills, but there was no way he could leap over. He might not even reach halfway. He would have better luck going through.

During his many inspections of the fence, Jacob discovered one of its boards was loose compared to the others. It jiggled and squeaked when he pushed against it. If he pushed hard enough, maybe it would fall over. That had worked on a cardboard box when he crawled inside and needed to get out.

Jacob walked nonchalantly past the chicken coop to the loose board. He took a few steps backward and prepared to charge. He ran hard and ducked his head just before making contact. His shoulder took the brunt of the collision as he bounced off the fence. He got to his feet in a dizzy haze. The board stood as straight as ever. Jacob decided one try was enough. He was not going through the fence. He would need to try going under.

Jacob had no digging tools so he chose the softest patch of dirt and clawed out a hole, one scoop at a time. He only made it a few inches before reaching a large rock. This rock problem happened every time he dug in the flowerbeds. He moved to another spot and tried another hole hoping to find a clearer path. More rocks.

The sounds and smells from the other side of the fence intensified. “Hello! Can somebody help me?” Jacob called.

No one answered or seemed to care. They were all having too much fun.

“I’ve got to hurry before the party ends without me,” Jacob said to himself. “There’s got to be another way.” He looked toward the chicken coop. Mommy and Daddy always called the chickens inside “stupid”. Jacob had to agree. They never did anything interesting. They were unfriendly and treated him like he was dangerous. But Jacob knew they were birds. He had never seen them fly like other birds but figured they could do it if they wanted. If they knew there was a party on the other side of the fence, they could fly over.

Jacob’s chicken plan was more like a daydream formed in his six-year-old head. He did not know how things would work out in the end or the middle, but he knew it would start with setting the chickens loose from their coop. They were held in by a spring-loaded door and Jacob knew how to pull it open. He was not supposed to go near it unless Mommy or Daddy was collecting eggs, but this was an emergency.

Jacob nudged open the door and the stupid chickens sat there staring with their tiny dot eyes. Jacob pushed the door farther and called, “Get out!” One chicken took a few jerky steps forward and then ran for the open yard. The two other stupid chickens followed.

After Jacob let the door slam shut, he found the chickens pecking at the lawn like they did not hear the party on the other side of the fence. None of the three flapped its wings for a takeoff. None of them mentioned taking Jacob over the fence. He decided to stir them up by chasing them across the grass, hoping to aim them toward the fence. They squawked and shrieked like he was a bear.

It did not take long before Mommy ran out into the yard. “What’s going on?” she cried. “Why are the chickens out?” She looked down at Jacob. “Did you open their door?”

Jacob returned an innocent stare and gave a little shake of his head. He knew better than to look down at the ground, which was a sure admission of guilt.

“Well, they didn’t get out themselves,” Mommy continued. “Somebody had to do it.” She looked around the fence line and noticed the holes in the flowerbed. “Where did those come from? Jacob have you been digging again?”

Jacob kept his head up. He hoped she did not notice mud on any part of his body as he gave his head another innocent shake. Mommy eyed him suspiciously as a burst of laughter floated over from the other side of the fence. Jacob longingly took several steps toward the sound.

Mommy smiled and said, “A nice day to have a party. Maybe we can have one of our own for lunch. But first you’ll need to help me get the chickens back in their coop.”

Jacob eagerly chased the chickens until they scooted inside their protective door. Then he followed Mommy across the lawn, up the porch steps, and into the house. She immediately walked to the refrigerator and opened it up.

“Let’s see. What do we have for a summer party? Ice cream?” She looked down at Jacob. “I’m afraid that will upset your stomach. How about a hot dog? I know you like those.”

Mommy pulled a hot dog from a drawer and set it on a plate. Then she sat the plate on the floor. Jacob hurried over and greedily gobbled the hot dog in a few bites. Mommy leaned down and stroked his hair.

“You’re a good boy. You’ve had a busy morning.”

Jacob happily wagged his tail in agreement.