Monday, October 08, 2007

Uncle Bryan & Aunt Kimmy's kidproof adventure


My nephew was up for the weekend. Big doings; mom and Debbie flew in and I picked them up in Williamsport. None of them have been here since I moved here, so it was great to be able to show them around.

Most of my preparations for their arrival centered around cleaning. Bryan dusted and vacuumed, I did dishes and laundry and made sure there were towels. We put things away. We planned activities. We coordinated schedules. Never in our flurry of activity did we ask ourselves, what should one have on hand when a six year old is among us? I was mostly concerned about his not annoying the cat.

We had a great weekend full of activity; hikes, seeing the sights, music, food, in general it was a successful visit. I learned a few things.

1. When kids are in the house, have snacks and something besides 'old people' cereal.

2. Six year old boys generate a range of sound effects capable of throwing migrating birds off course pretty much from the moment their feet hit the floor until they collapse in unconsciousness 13-14 hours later. This is about as headache-inducing as you'd imagine.

3. I love kids. Other people's kids. The kind of kids you can drive to an airport on Sunday afternoon for a one way trip back from whence they came.

4. The cat will be annoyed. But he'll get over it.

5. Uncle Bryan and Aunt Kimmy's house is a haven for those nieces and nephews partial to Harry Potter, creative writing, and quiet serenity. When those nieces and nephews come along I hope someone will let us know. In the meantime the rest can expect lots of hikes. Ah, the sweet, deep sleep of a child all hiked out.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, and he pulled poor Seamus's tale. Darned kid, but really I love him (the cat, that is ;).

Anonymous said...

His tail, of course, I mean. Having a real problem typing today. Instead of "weekly," I spelled out "wekly" on a board I'm on. D'oh!