The Adventures of Harry and Grace (H.S.)

Don't Ruin My Gucci

"Eth, can I have the shovel please?" Grace asks as she plays in the sandbox with her two-year-old brother.

"No. Mine!" Ethan says as he continues to dig his hole nice and deep in the soft tan sand. His hand grips the red plastic tool, pushing it into the ground and flipping the sand to the side.

"Pa-leaseeeee. I need to finish my tunnel. Sharing is nice, Eth. Let me have it." Grace holds out her hand, opening and closing her fingers into her palm as a way of telling her brother to hand it over. Ethan completely ignores his sister as he begins to fill up the back of the dump truck. Poppy sniffs around the sandbox, finding a perfect spot before digging a hole with his paws.

Grace growls at her brother, snatching the tool from his hands. Ethan's face turns red. His eyes tear up. And with one mighty howl, he grabs at the sand to throw at his sister. The sand drips through his fingers as he fills his tiny hand as full as possible before chucking it at Grace.

"ETHAN!" Grace's voice shrieks through the backyard. Her face turns her favorite shade of pink and scrunches up. Brushing the sand off her shirt she looks at her brother. "WE DON'T THROW SAND!" She says sternly. Poppy looks up at Grace in surprise and barks at her reaction as though he is shocked by her extremely loud yell.

Ethan gleefully smiles at his sister's frustration and digs his fingers into the sand again. Picking up a handful of the light brown ground, he pulls his arm back and releases, causing the sand to spread through the air, hitting Grace in the face, spilling it down her shirt.

"Ewww ETHAN. NO THROWING SAND!" She spits out the sand that has made it into her mouth, kicking her feet on the ground. "I'm wearing Gucci. Mumma says that's a lot of money," Grace whines, brushing the sand off her shirt again. "She won't be happy."

Ethan giggles at her reaction and decides to throw some more. Digging both hands in the sand, he lobs one handful after another at his sister. Grace is covered by the onset of the sand storm, and her frustration begins to boil over the top as Ethan continues to laugh.

"STOP ETHAN. NO NO NOOOOOOOOO." Grace stands up off the ground, stomping her feet as she hollers through the yard. Harry looks over at you while preparing dinner, and you speak through your eyes. Grace is screaming; something must be wrong.

The back door opens as you and Harry bolt out to the sandbox while Grace is yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Mine! No! Mine!" Ethan says. The sand storm has calmed as Ethan reaches over and grabs the shovel that was once stolen from him. As if his world was perfectly fine, Ethan begins to dig in the sand, filling up the back of his dump truck.

"Daddy!! Ethan is throwing sand. On my Gucci." Grace cries to her father as you and Harry reach the sandbox. Her lips pokes out as she begins to pull the pout face that looks very similar to her father's when he doesn't get what he wants.

"What's going on? Why are we throwing sand, Stud?" Harry asks, moving to help Grace brush the sand off her white Gucci hoodie and her pink corduroy pants that have a slight flare at the legs.

"And Grace, why are you wearing Gucci in the sandbox?" You ask, horrified that the expensive outfit is possibly getting ruined.

"I like this outfit mum. It's fashion." Grace rolls her eyes before she begins to whine again. " And the sand. It's in my hair." Grace cries. The tears are starting to flow as her frustration from the event has taken over.

"We can take a bath. But why was Ethan throwing sand?" Harry asks again.

"Mine. Bug no! Mine." Ethan clutches the shovel close to his chest, showing his parents that what he took in his arms belongs to him.

"Oh. I see." You say, watching the interaction between the two children. "Ethan, did Grace take your shovel?"

"No! Mine!" Ethan holds the shovel closer to his body than a mama kangaroo holds her baby.

"Grace, did you take the shovel from your brother?" Harry asks Grace as he finishes brushing the sand off her back.

"Yea, but Daddy, Eth wouldn't share." Grace says through her tears.

"Was it nice to take the shovel, Bug?" Harry sits on the grass, pulling Grace into his arms to try and calm her down. Poppy makes his way over to Harry, plopping himself down next to his master's thigh.

"No. But Ethan threw sand at me. That not nice. I'm wearing Gucci!" The seven year old states matter of factly.

"Your Gucci is going to be just fine. We can wash it." Harry rocks his daughter in his arms. "But it's not kind to take things just because you want them."

"Ethan, do we throw sand at Sissy?" You ask your son. Ethan continues to dig in the sand, looking up at you as he fills his dump truck to the brim. "Throwing sand is a no-no. Okay buddy? No throwing sand." You are soft but serious in your delivery. Unsure if Ethan understands, you need both children clear that they each were doing something that isn't okay.

"Grace, what can you say to Ethan?" Harry prompts.

"I'm sorry, Ethan. I won't steal your shovel again." Grace sniffs her boogies up as they run out of her nose from crying. "Can I have a hug?"

Your heart melts as she stands from Harry's lap, making her way towards her brother with her arms outstretched, eager for the embrace.

"Ethan, can you tell Gracie sorry?" You prompt your son.

"Saw-we!" He looks at Grace and stands up from his spot in the sand. Moving towards each other, they wrap their arms around their sibling's back, squeezing tightly just like their father does, something he made sure to teach them young.

"I love you, Ethan. Butterfly much." Grace says before letting go.

"Lob Bug." Ethan leans up and kisses Grace on her arm, the highest place he can reach. Ethan turns around; bending over, his fingers wrap around the plastic shovel, grabbing it from the sand.

"Bug pway?" Ethan asks holding out the shovel to his sister.

"Thank you Eth!" Grace says, taking the shovel from her brother. "Wanna help me build a tunnel for your truck?" Ethan agrees, moving to help his sister in her effort to make a hole in the mound she created. You and Harry smile with pride as your children work together to play in the sand happily.