It's A Front-end Loader--Not a Bulldozer

Through high school I worked summers as a secretary for two different construction firms and I've spent a fair amount of time around construction projects. I know more than the average female does about about heavy equipment--say, the difference between a belly dump and an end dump or an end dump and an end dump with a pup--and have taught the kids the proper terms for each piece of equipment.

So when I gave Lillian the cast-iron Caterpillar front-end loader I won at a Christmas party she knew right away what to call it.

One of her brothers tried to tweak her by calling it a bull-dozer but she wasn't in the mood.

"It's a front-end loader. Not a bulldozer!"

When we drive around town she will point out the graders (not graters) we see scraping the snow off to the sides of the roads and the end dumps (not dump trucks) carting snow to the dumping grounds. The other day while I was in the shower the snow crew came through and plowed the streets. Later, commenting absentmindedly on the finished product I said, "Looks like the graders came through."

Whereupon she firmly said, "No, it was a front-end loader."

I smiled and said, "No, Lillian, the graders push the snow around, not the front-end loaders."

She gave me this look. The one that says, "I'm not going to even dignify that with a response. I can see that it's not worth my time to discuss the subject with you further."

And sure enough an hour later when we left the house, there were the front-end loader tracks where it had pushed the snow up into the yard--the tracks were unmistakable. Dang she's smart.

But my tip for this week's Works for Me Wednesday is this: I have found another use for my gigantic roasting pan that I normally only drag out for the holiday turkey. I've dumped a bunch of rice in the bottom of it and let Lillian go to town pushing the rice around with her little front-end loader.

She piles the rice up and pushes it down then buries tiny toys in it to excavate. She's spent hours pushing the rice around that pan. This would also work in a bathtub--put some rice and some cars in the tub with your child (fully dressed--no water of course) and let them play in their homemade indoor sandbox. Just be sure to cover the drain with duct tape before you put in the rice.

Check in with Rocks in My Dryer every Wednesday for other good tips.

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