23 october 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2534: tiny tool

Image by Radosław Kulupa from Pixabay

“Robert,” said Mrs. Thalia Ludlow, “wake up and look at this cuteness overload with our baby grands and Cousin Harry.”

Capt. R.E. and Mrs. Ludlow were enjoying a few last days of rest before going home to their seven adopted children … the captain's grandchildren out of his two tragically lost children … but Ludlow Family 2.0 had been thriving and would thrive more now that the captain was more healed.

For seven weeks, Col. H.F. and Mrs. Maggie Lee had been watching over the Ludlow grandchildren, and Mrs. Lee was always on the spot in sending videos of the Ludlow grandchildren when they were just too adorable to miss, and this was such a moment.

The colonel was doing household repairs, and with him, in their mini hard hats, safety goggles, tool belts, and with tool boxes in hand, were future engineers five-year-old R.E. Ludlow III (also known as Lil' Robert by comparison to Big Robert his grandfather) and six-year-old Grayson, Lil' Robert's first cousin and brother by adoption. The big Lee cousin was explaining the situation, and then they all got into their tool boxes and put what they wanted on their belts for the job at hand. The little Ludlow cousins watched their big Lee cousin to see what he chose and basically followed his lead, but both had questions about other tools and he took time to explain.

There were some very small screws that needed to be tightened up, and Capt. Ludlow had bought each of his grandchildren solid miniature tools … so Col. Lee let his little cousins take turns getting up on the stepladder and being held by him for safety while they took their tiny tool and went to work.

“Look at Lil' Robert – looking all serious like Papa with his little Phillips screwdriver!”

“Because, see, when it's for the family, it's gotta be right, because we don't know if the whole house might be hanging on this screw and not know it because, see, houses are weird and stuff, but, see, we three with the Ludlowness and Leeness vested in us aren't going to let that happen, see, because –.”

“There's some nails down here that can be banged in better, too, Cousin Harry,” Grayson said as he got out his little hammer. “I got 'em.”

“Look at Grayson looking so serious like Papa!” Mrs. Ludlow said.

Capt. Ludlow was cracking up at the antics of his two baby grandsons, hard at work with his colonel cousin – the job took twice as long because of course the colonel had to account for his little cousins' abundance of questions, need for safety staging for them to do anything, and their relative lack of hand strength for the little they could do. But they were getting the most out of it!

“Next time, Cousin Harry, let me swap all this stuff out for Legos so they fit together real easy,” Grayson said. “Us having to do stuff twice ain't it.”

“Yeah, I don't know why they use all these screws and stuff when they can be building rockets with that stuff,” Lil' Robert said. “I mean, we can do that with Legos too, but, see, space is big and we want our stuff back!”

“They are such Ludlows – poor grandbabies of mine – ain't got a clue but confident as heck!” their grandfather said as he rolled laughing.

“Well, you managed to get the love of your life to marry you and take them on, so the Ludlowness seems to be working,” Mrs. Ludlow said.

“God is good,” he said as he stopped laughing. “Up to age 39, I truly did not have a clue and was overconfident … I certainly learned my lessons then … by the time I met you I still didn't have a clue but I knew I was going to need to go to God and get one … and He has guided me all the way to us, here, about to get home to these little Ludlows!”