Chinese Checkers

The boys came home today. This will be my last week with them before their Dad gets back. Don’t know who’s more excited – me or them! Haha!

We got home around 2:00 which meant of course that everyone had dispersed by 2:05 and regrouped by 2:10, friends in tow. There’s a little hill directly across from the house where they go sliding and it wasn’t until 4:30 that Little Bear came to the door crying because someone had pushed his face in the snow. He’s a bit of a dramatic little soul and he got all fired up with the indignation of it all. By the time he’d calmed down, his fingers started to tingle as they warmed and we had Act ll over that. Before the curtain fell on that little scene, Sam also came to the door crying. Someone had rubbed snow in his face and hair and he, like Little Bear, was not at all impressed. When I was their age, we called that a ‘mobbing’ and it was always a good bit of fun when you were the ‘mobber’, not so much so when you were the ‘mobbee’. In any case, hot chocolate with marshmallows and extra whip cream seemed to soothe the soul and they were adamant that the perpetrators should not be given any hot chocolate should they show up at the door.

The perpetrators, one being big brother, were not at all concerned, and at five we called them home as we were invited out for supper. Chocolate cake for dessert. Home for baths and Chinese Checkers. Forgot, as per usual, to take pictures. Bedtime stories and everyone asleep by 9:00. Try as I might, 9:00 is the best I can do. I can get them in bed early, but asleep? No way. And no screen time today. Not for the boys; not for me. (until now) Little Bear, by the way, cheats. He does it when he thinks you’re not looking and then puts on this angelic personae that is so exaggerated I would know he cheated even if I hadn’t seen him do it. He’s a sport about it when you call him out though. Just laughs and moves the marbles back.

The game and the leather pouch of marbles came from my grandmother’s house. I suspect it’s eighty plus years old at least. More than one game played on this board.

Twice-loved.