There is a rivalry that is known in all lands. It predates us all and is as inevitable as the sunrise. It is bitter, ruthless and uncontested as the most savage of relationships.
Texas vs. OU? No, more savage.
Sibling Rivalry? No, OLDER!
I am referring, of course to PIRATES and NINJAS.
I don't know how my kids decided on where their allegiances lie, but it seems they have fallen into opposite factions in this battle. And that means its gonna be AWESOME to watch.
Seriously, like better than pay-per-view, awesome.
As their dad I know I should try to forge a temporary truce and not promote fighting and disharmony. However, as a spectator my mind resembles one of the brainless "mom's basement" dwellers that pack themselves into a stadium for Monday night RAW!
I know good parenting means not favoring one child, so after today's battle I have settled on attire of a black T-shirt (Go NINJA!) and a blue doo rag (Arrrrghhhh!).
What has prompted all this you ask?
This morning the kids were getting dressed to go outside. We do early outside time because of late it has gotten stupid hot by 11 or so. The kids were sitting on the floor. The Boy was dressed and playing with Mega Blocks. The Daughterchild didn't have shoes on, but was otherwise dressed and wearing a mesh trucker hat of mine. The hat has no real bearing on the story other than being pulled down low because it was huge on her and this lent to the mystery of not being able to see an opponent's face.
Building with Mega Blocks for a 3 year old, and anyone really, is barely 3 dimensional. In the sense that walls and fences are 3-D so are Mega Block constructions. Without flat pieces you lack detailed expansive models. I say that to explain that anything you build looks like a wall. "Its a Dinosaur!" Until you turn it, then its the side view of a wall. "Its a building!" Like a Hollywood backdrop. You get the idea. They all look like walls till someone says, "Its a ...." and you get a profile view. Little known fact, it is a finely honed skill to see a blockstrosity and be able to tell a child you can tell what it is before they explain it to you. This is true for drawings too.
**Quick peek behind the curtain** One of the tricks is listening while they build or draw. Rockets, boats and planes don't make the same noises as swords and dinosaurs being built. If you can catch a whoosh or a roar in the imaginative drawing process, it narrows down the selection. A LOT.
The Boy was sitting in front of the Daughterchild who was puzzling over her shoes. Half of her shoe problems were due to them being put on the wrong feet. The other half was that her attention was not on the task but on her brother's block monstrosity.
The Boy turned the newly constructed, but as yet unidentified, block construct towards the Daughterchild and said, "See? Its a gun! I have a gun like a pirate! I shoot you, ok?"
As the newly defined block gun was being pointed at my daughter many thoughts raced through my mind. Gun safety, "I've told them not to point guns at each other," and most importantly, "Where in the world did he hear pirates have guns?"
I needn't have worried. The hat shrouded face of my daughter gave no indications of her actions. Quick as a hiccup, from a sitting position, she flung her foot out in a roundhouse kick Chuck Norris would have been proud of. As her bare foot hit the block gun in his hands, she shouted, "BABY NINJA!"
There is some base thrill with watching block constructions explode on impact. I have no explanation for it but both children share this excitement with me.
Like all the atoms in a molecule returning to their basest forms, the block gun disintegrated leaving only a block in each of The Boy's hands, and remnants filling the hall randomly. He sat, stunned looking at his near empty hands as she grinned and reached to pick up the shoe her foot had left behind. They sat staring at each other for what felt like eons. And I sat staring at them wishing I had popcorn and a video camera. I didn't know how this interchange would end, but happily they both laughed, put her shoes on (the correct feet) and went outside to play. Any parent can tell you this beats the alternative.
Closing thoughts?
Pirate-0 Ninja-1
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