A Bell, I Ring It

The Liberty Bell-Before Repairs

Last week our family made another one of our east coast trips to attend two weddings. Two weddings with a toddler you may ask? What were we thinking? In this particular case our lack of thinking left us no less worse for the wear. Save for Edmund's commentary of "a train coming, I hear it, chugga chugga choo choo" upon hearing a train whistle during the vows at the PA wedding (sorry Evan and Kaitlin) and his request to "take a walk" during the vows at the NJ wedding (sorry Lisa and Gage), Edmund did amazingly well. As it appears he chooses the vows as his choice time to check-out, I'm hoping he doesn't leave some poor girl in the lurch during his own vows some day.

The first wedding we were to attend was very near Philadelphia, PA so we decided to check out a few local sights during our trip. First stop, the Liberty Bell. Every so often Edmund would chime in from the backseat to remind us "I go Philadelphia. I ring a bell." You may think a two year old would find little appeal in an old bell. Not so. When the children in my preschool class are bouncing off the walls, Jennifer and I take them to ring the church bell that is located on the school's property. Because it is such a rare occurrence to venture outside the fenced area, the bell holds a mysterious allure over these children in the way the Liberty Bell holds an allure over the people of the United States. I suppose there isn't much difference between a two year old and the Liberty Bell flock after all.

Surprisingly, Edmund was kind enough to let Steven and I read the information leading up to the Liberty Bell. As we moved along we prepared him for the fact that the bell was broken and wouldn't sound any more. He reminded himself as we walked "bell broken." When we got to the bell he posed for the obligatory picture and we moved on. We talked about the bell a little more as we walked outside to take in a view of Independence Hall. Edmund's interest in the bell waned as he had more pressing matters, such as lunch, to attend to

The next day Kay Kay and Aunt Becca joined us at Sesame Place (a future post to come). I asked Edmund to tell them about what he saw in Philadelphia. He said "I saw bell." Aunt Becca inquired "did the bell have a big crack?" While bobbing his head up and down Edmund very matter-of-factly stated "No, I fixed it." Edmund is a quick worker for I blinked and missed that repair job.

Aunt Alison, Grandma, and Grandpa went to see the Liberty Bell the following day. According to them the crack had reappeared. Some excited visitor must have rung the bell a little too hard, as I'm sure Edmund's repair job was one of superior quality. I wouldn't hold your breath to hear the bell ring again anytime soon, as I have it on good authority Handyman Edmund is booked solid the next 16 years.