Memorial Day must have come early this year. It sure doesn't seem like 12 whole months could have elapsed between the time we took Isaiah to his first Memorial Day parade and the Monday before last when he went to his second.

I remember when I was in high school, I couldn't wait to be in college where "you don't have to do homework if you don't want to, you know". That, by the way, is 100% true. You don't have to do homework in college.

Then, I remember being in college, while contemplating assignments due (undone, of course) and how much time remained to complete them, thinking "Man, it's Monday night, the week is almost over!". It is true, though, that you don't have to do homework in college if you don't want to. Ask me how I know... I also remember longing to be out in the working world where you really don't have homework to do.

Now, here I am, grown (ha!), my own family, my own home, in the working world, and no homework (not from my job, anyway). Here I am where I've always wanted to be- I can goof off when I want, I can do what I please when I want to do it, I can spend my money as I wish, blah, blah, blah. Time slips through my fingers faster now than it ever did before.

Let me tell you, kids, adulthood is an illusion. Hear me now and believe me later- it'll never get easier, better, or more fun than when you are a kid. Homework or no, enjoy your youth. Stretch it out, make it last. Time only accelerates and you'd better get out of it what you can at the point in your life where you are right now, because you won't be there again. Of course, such advice can have extremely negative side effects if taken too far. See the paragraph above, the one about college, for example.

Anyway, Isaiah enjoyed the parade. All of it, that is except the loud horn on the fire engine at the end of the parade. He didn't mind the sirens and he loved the marching bands, but that one loud horn the fire engine honked, you know the one- it sounds like a klaxon and it even makes you cringe a little if it goes off too close, made him cry.

He didn't cry much, though. He is a tough and robust little fellow. he only sobbed a couple of times after the long honk ended and was as happy as ever. He was even interested in the fire engines as long as they weren't honking that horn.

He especially liked the Shriners on the little 3 wheelers. Not only did they zip around really neat, but they sounded much like one of Isaiah's favorite things in the world- a lawn mower.

Isaiah loves anything mechanical or technological. He loves cars, and at 14 months old makes motor sounds to go with anything that has wheels as he rolls it in the floor, but his favorite wheeled contrivance is a lawn mower.

Perhaps his appreciation of lawn mowers was inspired by Ruth's Aunt Ruth's lawn tractor. She has a yard of some size and she also has arthritis in her knees so she has a riding lawn mower. Now, this mower is nothing to sneeze at, either. I don't know exactly how many horsepower it produces, but it's not one of the cute little toys you see sitting in front of the hardware store, let me tell you.

I think the Boy's fascination with machines and obsession with mowers stems from the fact that from time to time, he is allowed to ride in an adult's lap on this mower (after the mowing is done and the blades are disengaged, of course). Let me further point out that the words fascination and obsession are fully appropriate.

How would you expect a child of less than 2 years age to react to a ride on a big yard tractor? A big smile, laughing, maybe clapping his little hands and squealing with glee?

Well, in my son's case, you would be dead wrong. He is such an intelligent little fellow. As we zip across the yard with Daddy heading for the bumpiest parts at full speed, his little brows are furrowed and his eyes are focussed in concentration as he evidently strives to figure it all out. "Let's see... That pedal over there seems to accelerate us forward, while this one over here produces the opposite affect... And the wheel here in Daddy's hands seems to control our direction of travel..."

Daddy, however, has a big smile and is laughing and squealing with glee.