Attention (hi!) Span? There’s (SMASH) nothing (hi!) wrong with (hi!) my attention (DATS MINE!) span.

“Hi!” Timmy’s bright eyes twinkle up at me. He’s the smilingest, sunniest, brightest little guy. Cute as a button, too. Reminds me a lot of the youngest Disney dwarf, Dopey. Particularly the grin and the ears.
“Hello, there!”
“Hi!”
“Hi to you, too.”
“Hi!”

Malli wanders by, humming a tuneless little ditty, a small blue plastic basket overflowing with big plastic blocks in her arms.

“Hi!”
“Hi!”
“I don’t think she’s listening to you, lovey.”
“Hi!”

“Oh! Nigel! Please don’t stand on the plastic blocks, buddy. They will break.”
“Why?” He looks at his foot, lifts it off the block and onto the floor.
“The plastic blocks aren’t as strong as the wooden ones, and you’re a big boy. You’ll break them if you stand on them.”
“Why?”
“Never mind ‘why’. Just stay off the block.”
“Wh–”
“Don’t say ‘why’. Say ‘Yes, Mary’.”
“Yef, Maywee.”
“Thank you.”

“Hi!”
“Hi, Tims.”
“Hi!”

CRASH! The oversized blocks pour from Malli’s basket and bounce across the floor. She grins, then squats down to put the blocks back into the basket.

“Hi!”
“You like that word, don’t you, bud?”
“Hi!”
“Indeed.”
“Hi!”

Malli walks by with her refilled basket, humming that tuneless hum.
“Hi!…Hi!…Hi!”
“Nigel! What did I say about those blocks?”
“Dey wiw bwake if I stan’on dem.”
“Exactly. Now put that foot back on the floor.”
“Hi!”
“Thank you, Nigel. Now, come over here. I’m going to take the puzzles out. You want to do a puzzle?”
“Oh! Puzzoh!”
“Good man.”

CRASH! Malli has emptied the basket again in a different corner of the room.

“Hi!”
“Hey there, Timmy.”
“Hi!”
“You know any other words, Mr. Man?”
“Hi!”
“Guess not.”
“Hi!”

“NO! NO! GO AWAY! DAT’S MY BOX!”
“Malli? You know what? Those are not your blocks. They are mine. I share them with you, so you can share them with Emily and Anna.”
“Hi!…Hi!…Hi!”
“Hey, Tim. Malli, see what Emily and Anna are doing?”
“Puttin’ the box in the basket.”
“Yes. Putting the blocks in the basket, just like you! You know what I think? I think they’re helping you.”
Her brown eyes are dubious, but calm.
“You came up with a good game. Anna and Emily think so, too. Now they all like to play your good game. See? They almost have that basket full, now.”
“They putting all the box in my basket.”
“Hi!”
“Yes, and then they’ll need to dump them out somewhere else. Where should they dump them?”
“I know! Can I help them?”
“Of course! Then you can all play that good game together!”

“Hi!”
“You know, you really need to enrich your vocabulary, little man.”
“Hi!”