Controlled destruction

In the heart of every child lurks the desire to bust something.  And it's not often that kids can indulge that desire without worrying about getting into trouble.  So it was with obvious glee that the kids took on the task of dismantling an old John Deere tractor.  This tractor was a beloved toy of Jacob's.  He acquired it one fine day when he was about 2 years old.  We had gone to Trask's in Rosedale, planning to buy some birdseed.  Jacob came along and made a beeline for the green area of the shop.  You know, the corner that is bristling with John Deere model tractors and paraphernalia.  The corner that the owners probably secretly refer to as "our little gold mine".  He parked his rotund bottom on a John Deere pedal tractor and we all knew at that point that that particular set of wheels was coming home with us.  Sure enough, Jacob's dad capitulated to the pleading look in his toddler's eyes and the deal was sealed.  We loaded up the tractor into the van and it was ours - or rather, it was Jacob's.

He spent many a gleeful afternoon pedaling up and down the sidewalks at our previous home.  When he was feeling particularly brave, he would push his tractor up the road and then let gravity pull him back down at the furious clip.  He would end that particular exercise with a tooth-chattering bump over the curb and then sprawl onto the grass in triumph. Fun!

Fast forward 4 years and that same tractor had become a faded relic.  We knew it's day were numbered when it spent last winter sitting outside, cruelly exposed to the elements.  The front tires had been squashed by an unknown workman who had backed over it when leaving our yard.  The back tires were worn through in places from repeated skids.  The chain came off repeatedly and the seat was dangerously wobbly.  Indeed, it was headed for the dumpster.  

I briefly considered buying 4 replacement wheels but I figured that even then, it would be only marginally roadworthy.  It's fate was sealed when, two weeks ago, Bryan brought home a shiny new John Deere for Malia, our latest 2 year old.  Parked next to the new favorite, our old Johnny looked pathetic indeed.  John Deere #1 had been officially sidelined.  

Our only remaining dilemma was how we were going to dispose of our old tractor?  Can you put something so decidedly green and bulky into the trash can and pass it off as household garbage?  We thought not.  We had a better idea.  We would give our kids an assortment of tools and a saw, and let them dismember it.  And did they ever.  Jacob removed the wheels with a flourish and then Danielle set to work with the saw.  I could hardly bear to watch.  Although Danielle's intentions were noble, she had asked Breezy and Jake to assist with the operation.  Jacob's task was to sit on the Deere while Brianna was to subdue John with a sturdy foot applied to the fore section.  I feared that with one slip of the saw, either Jake or Bri would become howling patients.

All went well, however and the tractor has now been firmly consigned to the garbage.