Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
In the back of his mind, as Capt. R.E. Ludlow climbed up on his roof to actually finish the patch work he was doing before grandson George had climbed up to set up yarn bombing his sister Edwina, he knew the day's adventures were not finished.
“I know I heard Andrew and Eleanor talking about needing a side hustle … I'm trying to forget that I heard it, but … .”
And Capt. Ludlow climbed back down yet again, because being delusional was not optional in a house with seven grandchildren he and his wife were adopting.
“Yes, Papa,” ten-year-old Andrew was saying in his room as he was changing into his exercise clothes, “Eleanor and I realize, as the oldest grandchildren, that we need to seriously think about side hustling, but first, we realized we all need to know how to do that.”
It slowly dawned on Capt. Ludlow...
“Oh, so, you're going to be training on side hustling because … people pay you for that.”
“Exactly. It's just a different form of running. I haven't seen it in the Olympics yet, but I'm sure it's coming whenever we get it back, and everyone can learn it.”
Eleven-year-old Eleanor was in her exercise clothes, and so were eight-year-old Edwina, seven-year-old Amanda, six-year-old Grayson, and five-year-old Lil' Robert.
“Let's do this!” Lil' Robert said.
Capt. Ludlow resisted the urge to put his head in his hand, and also to laugh.
George peeked out of his room in his exercise clothes.
“Please, Papa,” he said. “I want to learn how to be helpful to the family instead of causing trouble. “Please?”
“You may watch this afternoon, George, and this evening, you and I will do a special session so you can get caught up.”
“But, Papa--.” Grayson said, but then closed his mouth as his grandfather gave him that “When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it” look.
Five minutes later, the six Ludlow grandchildren were skipping sideways across the yard, back and forth.
“Side hustle!” they all said when eleven-year-old Velma and eight-year-old Gracie Trent came out to see what was going on.
“They pay people for good side hustling!” Amanda said as she skipped by.
“I don't think that's what that means at all,” Velma said. “A side hustle is a side job to your main job.”
“Ain't it the truth, BUT,” Gracie said. “Doesn't this look like a lot more fun? And, if Dad will let Milton film it and Cousin Vertran puts it on his 'Stuff Kids Are Doing' YouTube and Threespeak channels, it will pay really well. We just have to make sure to share fairly.”
Velma considered this.
“Well, you've got a point, Gracie,” she said, and then they went in and changed clothes and got involved with the side hustle of the day. Milton and George were allowed to use their sisters' phones to film and send footage to nine-year-old video business mogul-in-training Vertran Stepforth, and wouldn't you know it – all of them would get their fair share.
Meanwhile, Capt. Ludlow finally got his work done on the roof, and came down to receive his exhausted but happy grandchildren when they thought they had done enough. Later, Mrs. Ludlow would film the captain and grandson George on their evening side hustle, while Sgt. Trent and Milton did theirs in parallel.
“I gotta stay out of trouble, because I gotta stay caught up – doing the side hustle is hard!” George said, “but I know now!”
“Yeah!” Milton said. “This bringing in extra money is serious business!”