Learning to Play Again

I have just spent a week with my six year-old nephews. And I am exhausted. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have always wanted to be the Auntie/Grandmother that PLAYED with the kids – not just visited them. And Andrew and Brian are GREAT playmates. As soon as I arrived, they wanted to play our special game of “Cosmic Space Spider”. But we had to change it a bit as the space spider went to where broken toys go…… So now it was Cosmic Space Snake…. Or Dragon….. or whatever stuffed animal the boys selected. I have to tell you that I made up the game. But I no longer know the rules as the boys kept pointing out. “No Auntie Sharon! You have to hold the Black Hole up more.” The “Black Hole, by the way is a hula hoop. I sit on the floor in the upstairs hall and hold the hoop up and wave it about and growl and make cosmic space noises and try to catch the boys as they run past or dive through the hoop. The space animal comes in as my assistant trying to attack the boys who are squealing and laughing and running and jumping and having a great time. We also play the Cosmic Quicksand Game…. That’s when the hula hoop is laid flat on the floor and swirled around and the boys have to jump over it as it swirls. Sometimes the quicksand gets rowdy and starts flipping and flopping around and it is much harder to jump over it. And the quicksand LOVES little boy toes. So you had better be quick! If I don’t perform correctly, I’m reminded – No Auntie Sharon! Keep the quicksand on the floor! I have a digital camera which makes a very good toy. I take photos of small boys flying past me and then, with Photoshop’s help, they become aliens from outer space. They find this hilarious. It has been very interesting watching their sense of humor evolve. I have seen a big change with this last visit. They are developing “school boy humor”. You know, where ANY word related to bodily functions sends them rolling around on the floor. And the sillier the joke the better. I now realize why all those really bad knock-knock jokes keep surviving…… They were MADE for school boys! And if one pig snort will make you laugh, how about 30 in a row really fast? Knocking your socks off yet? And then there is the one where they say something cute and you laugh and then they say a wacky version of the same thing and you HAVE to laugh…. Because they are and they are just so darn cute! So even if “snickerdoodlesillypuff” isn’t hysterical, just look at that sweet face eagerly waiting for your guffaw. Another great advantage of being a playing Auntie is that you have to keep up on all the latest kid movies. So I took Mark to see “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” because I heard that when I got to the boys’ house, I would be receiving sorcerer lessons. And I HAD to go out and get black shoes as you can’t be trained wearing flip flops – the plasma balls might land on your feet. I missed “How to Train Your Dragon” which was a real liability. The boys tried hard to bring me up to speed so that I could assist with dragon training and care….. I don’t think I did very well …. We didn’t play that game for very long. And now the boys have met Harry Potter. Granted, they have only watched the first 4 episodes. It does get a bit dark after that and they are only 6. But now, we wear Harry Potter scars on our heads that have the amazing capacity to shoot lightening bolts at bad Cosmic Space operators when the Cosmic Space Hole/Quicksand starts to misbehave. I know when the punishing bolt is about to arrive – Harry grabs his scar in pain and winces and then….. I’m done for. So I have to play the “Cosmic Space” death scene. We also play the Guessing Game. Coral, the stuffed coral snake blocks the hall way with the hula hoop and she tells the boys that they have to guess the password. They usually want AT LEAST one hint. And of course, Coral has QUITE the personality. She sings (albeit not well) and she promises not to eat the boys or bite them if they feed her…. So we get piles of stuffed animals and pretend possums (I guess that’s what coral snakes eat…. Oh and lots of ribs…. Hmmm….) and, of course, they guess the word. So Coral cries and they have to hug and kiss her and make her feel better. And I learned about Ben Ten and that you can pull yourself up the stairs pretending that it is a mountain. Playing sure is fun! But I think I need a nap.