The other day, after finishing loading the dishwasher for the second time that day, I looked out into the living room to check on the kids. They had been laughing for some time, and seemed to have invented some sort of new incarnation of a common game I’ll simply refer to here as “jumping from the couches onto piles of cushions.”
As I watched the goings on, my son proceeded to climb up into a standing position on the living room love seat. This didn’t bother me at all, since the kids are always climbing up and jumping off of the living room furniture onto piles of pillows. It really is their rainy-day playground.
What I was not prepared to see, however, was my son launching himself purposefully through the air, and crashing right into my daughter, who was standing on the pile of pillows strategically placed right in the middle of the living room floor. As he hucked himself off the couch, I heard him exclaim a rather familiar, “Aaaaaa!!!” that sounded a bit like a squawk. I stood there stunned for a second, until I realized that both kids were laughing hysterically and picking themselves up off the pillows. Not knowing what to think of this, I shook myself out of my momentary shock and asked, “Woah! What in the world are you doing, dude?! You just crashed right into your sister!” I then turned my attention to my giggling daughter, “Sweetie, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Momma!” laughed my little girl. “We’re just playing!”
“Yeah, Mommy, we’re playing!” said my son, very matter-of-factly.
“But what are you playing? You’re launching yourself off the couch and crashing right into your sister and knocking her down!”
“But, Mommeeeeeee…We’re playing ‘Angry Birds’!” He grinned at me. “Watch this!”
And I just stood there, watching my son clamber up onto the couch again, my eyes just blinking for a few seconds, before I totally lost it. I don’t think I’d laughed that hard in a very, very long time.
They were playing Angry Birds. Literally.
I don’t know if this means that we as parents are doing something right?…or if it is simply further proof that the kids’ iPhone time must be kept to an absolute minimum. 😉
Either way, I just have to rejoice in the workings of a child’s way of creative thinking. Truly, truly amazing stuff.
“Aaaaaa!!!”…
