Kindergarten had been a breeze with Pesci so far. But, collecting one hundred pinecones was going to be tough. After learning to count they are about to get to their goal and it was time to have a big party. All the students had to bring one hundred of something and Pesci chose pinecones. It's a good thing our yard is filled with them so we can knock out some yard work too.
When he got in the car after school, he was bursting with excitement and couldn't contain himself. I lean over to look into the back from the passenger seat to see the little sprout looking child. I reach back and hold his little hand while I try and actually listen to what he's saying and not just watching him.
"Mr. Bucciarati told us to tell our moms and dads that we need to bring one hundred of something for our counting party but I don't know what to bring yet," he says almost faster than he can think. I rub my thumb on the back of his hand in gentle circles and his excitement is infectious.
"We can look around and get ideas when we go get groceries, how does that sound buddy," I ask him and his dark eyes sparkle at the proposed adventure.
"YAY!"
He throws his little fists in the air and bounces in his car seat. I turn back around in my chair while I chuckle at his enthusiasm. Before long, I feel my husband, Prosciutto, grasps my hand while his other continues to drive. I look up into his angular face and pristine hair and nearly melt. We've been married for eight years but he never fails to make it feel like when we met in high school all over again. I grasp his hand with both of mine now and cuddle his forearm until we arrive at the grocery store.
After getting all of the groceries we need, we couldn't come up with any ideas. And, on the drive home, we still didn't decide on what he would bring. It was only when we went home and Prosciutto said one thing.
"Where do all these damn pinecones keep coming from?"
Pesci's eye light up and he jumps in place.
"Mommy, Daddy, I wanna bring one hundred pinecones to the party!"
His jumping is rustling the bags on my arm. I look over and see a loving smirk directed at his little sprout-headed son before he connects with my eyes.
"Well, then I think I know what we're doing tonight," I say getting an excited squeal from Pesci and a full smile from Prosciutto.
"Then let's get to it," Prosciutto says opening the front door.
After everything was put up, I find a cardboard box big enough to fit a hundred pinecones into and we head out to the back yard. I clear out a spot in the middle of the yard as a home base. The boys huddle around the box and we turn it into a little game.
"Ok so here's the game. This is home base and you have to count out every pinecone you put in the box; continuing after the last number."
I look over to Prosciutto and he looks like he's forming a strategy. I look over to Pesci and he looks like ready to speed off like a bottle rocket.
3
2
...
1!
We all speed off in different directions and gather as many of those pesky fruits as we can hold. Prosciutto was the first one counting up to 11. Then it was my turn to bump the count up to 19. Then little Pesci came up to the box as fast as his little feet would allow him to add his... 4. I realized now that we were taking the game way too seriously. When his little voice yelled out, "23!", I look over to Prosciutto and he already knows what I'm saying. So, his next batch only brought the number up to 30. The game continued. 33, 37, 45, 67, 84, 99... that's where the numbers stopped. There were only 99 pinecones in our back yard.
I look over to Prosciutto and we give each other a look of exacerbated disbelief.
"100!"
We both look to see Pesci with his arms in the air, jumping up and down. We look back at each other with a different look of exacerbated disbelief. We chuckle at each other and walk over to celebrate our little man's victory. Prosciutto bends down and scoops him up into his arms. It felt like time slowed down when I got the full view of the two.
"Where did you find that last one bud," I ask him.
"I got one from the neighbor's yard," he said, triumphantly. Prosciutto and I give each other a knowing look. It's a good thing Ghiaccio and Melone are out of town right now or someone would have had a fit. And, we all know which someone was talking about.
"What a clever and sneaky boy," Prosciutto proudly says while he tickles him a little. Every time Pesci giggles my heart completely melts; especially when Prosciutto is the cause.
We close the box and keep it safe until the party. Which, the pinecones were an absolute hit.
885 words
I've apparently been on a domestic kick lately, but strap yourselves in for some sweet, angsty Jotaro time.
