September 14 – “The Ender of Fun”

The Almost-All-of-the-cousins’ sleepover turned out to be quite a success, I would say.  As usual it began with a visit from that ever-elusive donut man.  This time, however, he carried out his pickup and delivery with not one, but two young accomplices, Micah and Cailyn were both wide awake at 6 a.m. and waiting at the front door.

Now, one of the things these guys usually want to do when they come over is play some games on the Wii console.  That wasn’t going to happen this time, though.  The same lightning storm that fried our garage door opener did the same to our Wii.  Kel did his geek inspection of the unit and found that there was sound, but no video.  In its place, Nana really stepped up.  She and Aunt April gathered all the cousins in the den with the TV off, and they led them in a rousing game of Telephone or Telegraph or whatever you call the one where you whisper a message to the person next to you and so on around the circle, and then see how it changes.  Surprising how well they did.  Then they shifted to old time charades with some truly hilarious results.  Micah was a real champion at that one.  His acting was spot on when he revealed what he was doing, but his topics were so random that they were funny.  A cow jumping up and grabbing a bird and taking it with him to the moon.  Really?  Actually, this whole fried Wii thing has been great for Nana-led cousin interaction.  Even Aunt April did her best to be involved, although she was only allowed limited access because, as her daughter informed her, “you have to be a cousin to do this one.”  Of course you do.

Speaking of Micah, how about this little tidbit of philosophical wisdom: “Everybody dies in Star Wars.  Even Anakin dies.  Except for droids.  And clones are different.  They are all from the same guy.  Clones are humans, though.  They are not aliens.  And it’s fun when they die because they don’t have like blood and all.”

At one point they were all together running through the house chasing each other with a toy syringe from one of those kids’ doctor sets.  From the back bedroom we heard this interchange.

Josiah: “I’m a baby lion and I’m gonna give you a shot.”
Jachin: “Ha.  You can’t.  You don’t have opposable thumbs.”
Ah, something in science class stuck, Mom.

As with all good things, however, the sleepover had to come to an end.  Check this one out.
Chris (to Cailyn): “Your Mom is coming, and you have cheerleading today, so you need to get ready.”
Cailyn: “No, Nani.  You’re making me miss so much play time.”
Jachin: “Yeah, Nana is like our Mom sometimes.  We call her the Ender of Fun.”
Ouch. 

Well, here’s to all those Fun Ender Moms out there who truly want the best for their children.

Isaiah 49:15 says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”

Father, watch over the Moms of all of our grandchildren today.  Bring them peace and more than a little bit of happy.  Amen.