When my granddaughter
Olivia brought home her first report card of the year, I found out that she had
earned all A's and B's. I told her that I would give her $100 in spending money
if she made the A-B Honor Roll every semester throughout the year. Well, she
did, and a few days ago it was time to pay up. But instead of $100, I decided to
foot the bill for one of the new ATV's that
Bambi's husband
Don was selling at his store across town. Olivia was getting a 4-wheeler!
Cheria,
Tami and I headed over
there and picked one out, and later that evening Don hauled it over to our house
in his truck. Of course everyone except Cheria had to give it a try...just to
see if it was safe for Olivia mind you. After about an hour of "testing", we
determined that it was indeed safe for Olivia to ride. We then hid it in the
garage and waited a couple of days for her to come to our house so we
could present it to her.
When the big day arrived, Tami brought Olivia in through the front door while I
slipped out the back and placed the 4-wheeler in the driveway. Tami handed
Olivia a small gift-wrapped jewelry box that held the key to the ATV, then told
her she could choose between the aforementioned $100 or whatever was in the
box.
After a minute or two of contemplation, she chose the box. When she opened
it, she knew the present was a good one but she had no idea what it was. Well,
actually, she said the first thing that popped into her mind was a new car.
Yeah, right - a new car for an 11 year old! I guess it never hurts to dream...
We led her around the corner of the house, and her eyes got as wide as a quarter
when she saw a shiny new ATV sitting there with a card on it. After making the
"official presentation" and laying down some ground rules, we handed her a
helmet and showed her how everything worked. I gave her a bit of training and
off she went to conquer the entirety of our spacious back yard!
ATV's are very dangerous pieces of equipment if they are operated in an unsafe
manner, so we ALWAYS watch Olivia carefully while she's riding it, keeping the
"kill switch" at the ready. She loves her "award" for remaining on the A-B Honor
Roll all year so much that she didn't mind not receiving the $100, but I gave
her $50 anyway. After all, she had been promised some spending money and I
wanted her to have some.
So now we have today's picture that shows Olivia riding off into the
sunset...well, at least as far as she can go within the confines of our 3+
acres!
Important Note: "All Terrain Vehicles" (4-wheelers) are very dangerous if
operated improperly or in an unsafe manner. Make sure you acquire appropriate safety equipment (helmet, elbow and knee pads, etc.) and take a
safety/training course given by a qualified instructor before operating any type of ATV.
Picture Of The Day Homepage |
Submit
a photo
More Interesting Articles
|