LEAVE IT TO BEAVER

Big Sis, like all good grandmas, likes to talk about her five grandkids, all of whom live within just a few miles of her. Yesterday she had a funny story about five-year-old Boomer, whose turn at kindergarten Show and Tell was earlier this week.

Now, when I was a kid I was simply wild about Show and Tell, and I'd practically wet my pants in anticipation of going before the class to be in the limelight. In fact one time in first grade I developed such a tickle fit while telling some ridiculous story that all my classmates started laughing at me and it just became one big ball of giggling and the exasperated teacher, Mrs. Rankin, finally told me to return to my seat.

So---I was glad to hear that Boomer was putting a lot of thought into what he would do for his Show and Tell performance. Now, mind you, the kid had spent a week of his Christmas vacation in Florida going to every theme park in the Orlando area--Disney World, Epcot Center, Universal Studios, La-La Land, you name it. The family even drove on east to the Atlantic Ocean to beach comb and wade in the water. Boomer had enough souvenirs and stories to last a lifetime.

With that said, Sunday night his nice mama asked him what he wanted to take to school the next day for his turn at Show and Tell. And, according to Big Sis, his answer was--drum roll, please--"Grandpa's beaver stick."

"What in the world is a beaver stick?" I asked. Well, it seems the guy who sells Grandpa firewood has a body of water on his property and in that body of water live a band of beavers. He'd found a piece of wood that had been gnawed on by those busy critters and just threw it in with the load he sold to Grandpa, who then showed it to Boomer. Bam!!! Wow!!! Show and Tell material of the first degree!!! Mama took him to Grandpa's woodpile to retrieve the beaver stick, and all those Florida vacation goodies remained at home, apparently not quality material for Show and Tell Day.

I suppose there is a lesson to be learned here, you know, because some things that seem ho-hum to one person may be impressive to others. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." "One man's trash is another man's treasure." "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Or a gift beaver, for that matter. We should all look at life through the eyes of a child.