If you read this blog enough, I'm sure you've noticed that a lot of what I see as fun revolves around my wife and kids. I guess that makes me a Family Guy. Fifteen years ago, I don't think my friends would ever have chosen me for this role, but as it's turned out, I was the first of my 'crew' to get married, the first to have kids.... You never know what life will bring you.
I got a chance to teach my older daughter that lesson last weekend. In simpler terms, we spent the afternoon playing Chutes and Ladders on a rainy day.
Everyone knows that game; it's a childhood classic. And for grown ups, it's enormously annoying. I mean, there's no real point, the climbs and falls are completely arbitrary, and there's no skill involved. You can never predict what will happen.
Which makes it perfect for a 6 year old. Little kids haven't got the logic skills or patience for more advanced games. What they're really after is the time with a parent. So, between rolling the die, and helping her count out the squares, I got some quality time with my daughter on a rainy day. My wife had taken the little one out to buy some shoes and a potty seat, and I was supposed to take the older one to the park, but it started raining, and the drizzle turned into a full-out thunderstorm, one of those midsummer storms that just blasts in out of nowhere with a lot of noise, a hard rain, and even some hail.
Chutes and Ladders, and some time with Daddy, kept her from getting scared by the thunder and lightning out the windows, and winning one and losing one taught her, in a subtle and fun way that was completely unlike the weather outside, that you never really know what life will bring you. When the game was over, she gave me a hug and helped to make dinner. Definitely a good day.
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