Carson's Rainy Day Research

Carson's Rainy Day Research

“Challenges build character, young man.”

“But Uncle Norman, I don’t want to build character. I want to build a house…..not a real house but one from this kit I got for Christmas. And it’s dumb. How can you get a house from a bunch of popsicle sticks?” 

Carson had a real pout on. He was bored and the kit was the only thing left for him to do. He had been having fun outside in the pouring rain jumping in puddles splashing from the grumpy, growling clouds. Once he was too cold and too wet, he came into the house. Now he was by the fire, had everything scattered all around him and here was his Uncle Norman talking about challenges and character. 

“Well, what kind of research have you done?” Carson's Uncle Norman lowered his newspaper to talk with this favourite nephew.

Carson kept quiet: ‘And now he’s talking about research! That's school stuff.’ Carson wanted help not a school assignment.

“Research? I read the directions. But I can’t see what even a wall should look like so the directions don’t make sense.”

“I guess that’s your challenge then. Finding an answer that makes sense for you. What about that computer you are always playing games on? Can you find any pictures that will help?”

Carson’s Uncle Norman was not that great on computers even though he had to use them at work - at least that was Carson’s opinion. Uncle Norman never, ever played any games, so how would he know anything.

“Really?”

Carson scrambled to his feet, raced upstairs to his room and thundered back down already opening his little device. Once he settled on the rug again, he tapped rapidly in the search engine.  He let out a happy, excited yelp. “The Simplicity Site! I forgot all about it. We use it at school all the time. Here it is, Uncle Norman….pictures. And even a video of a guy putting a popsicle stick house together.”

Carson bent over his project, following the video and the directions, leaving Uncle Norman to read his newspaper. Quiet settled over the living room, broken only by the crackling fire, gentled rain and the odd cawing of a single crow.

“Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy.”

~ Robert Heinlein