Photo by the author, Deeann D. Mathews
“The thing is, it's a lot of people in this house and if you are going to get stuff done that you need to get done, you gotta do it and give everything else the gottagobye. But once you figure it out, you just stand on it, and then everybody else just doing stuff to be doing it will figure it out.”
Six-year-old Grayson Ludlow was sitting in the Lego pile with his newest adopted sister, ten-year-old Glendella, and explaining the fine art of the gottagobye.
“George and our friend Milton are always coming up with a new idea,” he was saying while passing her a big bunch of Legos, “but they talk about focused and locked in and the only thing they get is grounded.”
“I noticed,” Glendella said. “I mean I love them both, but they don't have their driver's license, out here talking about building a warp drive.”
“They aren't even going to get a learner's permit,” Grayson said. “It's not the right century yet for Star Trek, and when it is, the real Vulcans are going to come to Lofton County and look at how we do things here and realize it would not be logical to give us anything but a gottagobye.”
“Yeah, it is pretty bad,” Glendella said as she started building her side of what she and Grayson were working.
“And then there's Robert and Edwina,” Grayson said. “Both are great when they are chilling out, but, drama, especially Edwina.”
“Yeah, Rob and Eddie are living real big lives with big feelings and a lot to say,” Glendella said. “I adore them both, but they can eat up a lot of time.”
“I gotta hit the 'I will break bad' from Edwina with the gottagobye, because I am the last person you should be yelling around talking about not being afraid of prison, because I will build one and let you find out.”
“Yikes, Grayson,” Glendella said.
“There's this thing that Gracie's other grandmother, Grandma Jubilee, says: 'Don't start none, won't be none.' I never bother anyone. I'm just not going to be bothered, and Edwina only respects strength.”
“Yeah, I do get that,” Glendella said. “Eddie is a force of nature.”
“See, you came with strength because you ran away to get here and you stood up to your Bad Grandma and you're older,” Grayson said, “but Eddie is two years older than me, and she remembers when I was still running around in one-piece pajamas and building with Duplos. She has to be reminded sometimes that I've grown up, and I am not with the drama.
“Rob doesn't really do drama, and he never means any harm. He's just really, really, really big in personality and smarts, and that's a lot because he is five. He just has to settle all that bigness down. But he can build pretty much anything I can when he wants to. He also is going to do a redprint and not a blueprint because he likes red, and there's no reason to argue with him about it because you ain't gonna win. Rob is a lot like me too in that he's not out here telling anybody he's focused and locked in – he just lives life on 100 so there's no need for more.
“But the thing is, trying to keep up with and getting pulled into everything George, Milton, Edwina, and Rob have going on every single day – it's like they don't ever think they need a day off but Papa and Grandma know and so grounding happens – is just too much to get anything done. So, you just gotta hit them with the gottagobye and go on about your business.”
“So that's how you get all this drawing and planning done and still have time for the Lego pile,” Glendella said.
“Yep,” Grayson said.