Monday evening is Black Hat Society, when some friends and I get together and craft - crochet, write, sculpt, paint, color, chase small boys around the house and try to keep them from murdering each other with die-cast cars for fun...you know, the usual stuff.
Last night, Kit had Babyman with her, but her two older boys were off with daddy for some
At some point on the evening, Bird and Noodle decided to play hide-and-seek. Spontaneously. On their own. Bird is five and Noodle is three-and-a-half, so you can just imagine... Nah, you don't have to, I am going to write about it.
First, Noodle counted while Bird hid. It sounded something like "One...two...threefourfiesisseveneightniten" followed by "ReadyornothereIcome!!" and the thud of little feet. Meanwhile, in the two seconds that took, Bird was trying to hide under a couch cushion. Not even one of the big one - it was an accent pillow! Noodle somehow figured out where Bird was hiding - it may have been the feet sticking out, or the giggles, or the fact that Noodle could see him while he hid - in a few seconds, and they traded places. Bird's turn to count at turbo speed, and announce "ReadyornothereIcome!!" He found Noodle in short order because Noodle has only one hiding place, equally useful for escaping angry mommy, or angry me, or bogeymen, or hide-and-seek. He hides under the dining room table where no one could possibly see him between the chairs or anything. Heh. They played for quite a while this way, and us mums sat in the kitchen and recounted how the boys played hide-and-seek when they were even younger.
It seems to be universal - the child will either hide himself and count at the same time and then call out to be "found", or demand that a parent count while they hide and then, when the counting is done, run out from their hiding place and announce their presence with "Here I am!!"
What struck me most was how they were playing cooperatively, interacting, and chatting at normal volume, not simply running and screaming and acting like crazed monkeys. They had grasped the idea of hide-and-seek and were enjoying it enough that Bird was quite angry we had to leave.
He asked if we could stay the night. No, but we could come play again soon. Could we stay a whole week? Umm, no...we don't live all that far away, we can simply drive down or meet somewhere.. He then announced that he wished we could just live there with Michelle and Noodle all the time. Sweet, huh? Maybe when I win the lottery and build a little village for all of us...eh, a gal can dream. For now, though, out weekly semi-potluck get together will have to do.
My word picture: Bird in overalls and a blue shirt, head burried in the arm of Michelle's couch, counting to ten. Noodle crouched under the dining room table, grinning, eyes shining. Bird straightening, "ReadyornothereIcome!!", scampering around the foyer and into the dining room, bending over and peering under the dining room table, butt in the air. "I found you!" Giggles and proclamations of "Now it's your turn!" from both boys. Two boys running from living room to kitchen to dining room to foyer, one big circle, until Bird tells Noodle "We have to stop running now because I'm exhausted." and flopping onto the couch. Noodle running a bit more then throwing himself dejectedly onto the floor. Another round of hide-and-seek, this time Noodle counting and Bird hiding under a sofa cushion. Repeat for an hour or more.
Yes, I still have an indulgent-mum grin on my face.
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