“Okay, Tyler, you first. Tell me every single thing that happened to you today, and make sure you include at least one good thing. Hunter? You should be thinking about what you’re going to say.”

They told me their stories about math and lunch and recess and what was coming up and who they played with and what games they played. By the time they were finished talking, the platter was empty.

“Okay! Now, who’s got homework?”

Worksheets were pulled from their backpacks and they got down to business. I quizzed Tyler with spelling words and helped him complete a two-digit math sheet with and without carrying numbers. Next, I watched Hunter form letters.

“Hunter? Do you know I had the exact same practice paper when I went to school?”

“You did?” He said this in such amazement that I realized he thought I was ancient.

“Yup,” I said and crossed my eyes at him.

“You shouldn’t do that. They might get stuck,” he said.

“Baloney,” I said. “Who told you that?”

“Momma,” he said.

“Well, then, it’s true. Now what else do you have?”

“An Under the Sea math sheet,” Hunter said.

“And I have a counting money sheet,” Tyler said. “And a sheet on homophones.”

“Well, let’s get on it so we might have an hour for the playground before supper!”

“Yay!” they both said and focused on the job at hand.

I marveled at the fact that although Tyler sometimes seemed to have all the earmarks of an adult already in place, he didn’t yet know how to tell time or the difference in coin values and how they related to basic math skills and social literacy. And it was the same with Hunter. He was still learning his ABC’s and how to write his name when otherwise he seemed like he knew everything in the world. I thought then about who was going to help them with this work. Who was going to praise their small incremental leaps and big accomplishments? Would it be Archie? Well, to be honest, he might help with special projects like building a papier-mâché volcano, but it was doubtful he’d be available on a day-to-day basis to help his boys with these small tasks. Would Sharon? The answer to that would be a strong hell, no in neon lights.

“I love doing homework with y’all,” I said.

“We love doing homework with you, too,” Tyler said.

“Yeah, you make it fun,” Hunter said.

“Well, listen, when your daddy and Sharon get back, I’ll still help you with homework any old time. How’s that?”

“Boy, that would be great. I was worried about that,” Tyler said.