Big Brother
O. is enjoying having a new sister, and so far he has been really good with Roo. More than good, he’s been very sweet toward her: gentle when he holds her on his lap or gives her kisses and affectionate when he talks about her.
He also went through a phase the first couple of weeks after she came home where, although he was blameless in any situation involving the baby, he was being a major pain in the ass most of the rest of the time. So, consciously he was cool with the new addition to the family, but maybe subconsciously he needed to register his ambivalence. Thankfully, in recent days he seems to be back to his usual self, which is about 90% sweet, fun, and endearing, and 10% rascally and exasperating. I’m not quite sure what turned things around, but I have a theory that it’s all thanks to Chutes and Ladders.
Can I tell you frankly that I hate the game Chutes and Ladders? I loved it when I was five, but as an adult, I’m finding it grindingly boring, and it often seems just interminable, especially when the frontrunner lands on a naughty square and gets shunted down a long chute. I don’t actually care who wins any given game of Chutes and Ladders, as long as someone wins within a reasonable span of time. But this is a game where luck changes very quickly, players often go plummeting down from somewhere very near the finish line, and the game can stretch on into an eternity of monotony.
O. loves the game, however, and I am all about spending time with my big boy here in the early weeks of this huge transition in his life, sharing the spotlight with his baby sister. We were given the game a couple weeks before Roo’s birth by our well-intentioned neighbors, and O. has taken to it with a passion just this past week. And somehow his difficult behavior and eerily adolescent attitude seem to have declined in inverse relation to our increasingly numerous daily games of what O. refers to as “Up the Ladder, Down the Chute.” I don’t know if the “moral lesson” aspect of the game (where good deeds are rewarded at the top of a ladder, and bad behavior leads to ill consequences at the bottom of a chute) is having an effect on him, or if it’s just the mere fact of more focused one-on-one time with one or both of his parents improving his general mood and outlook. I like to think it’s the latter, since I slightly resent what seems to me a simplistic and rather goody-goody morality at work behind the game. (I know, I analyze this shit too much.) But whatever the source, the apparent relation between improved O. attitude and games of Chutes and Ladders played makes an otherwise unbearable game considerably more tolerable for me.
I just hope none of our neighbors is planning to gift us with a copy of my other favorite game from early childhood. I haven’t played it in three decades, but I’m reasonably sure it’s as big a snoozefest as Chutes and Ladders. Plus it promotes extremely problematic values in terms of oral hygiene and overindulgence in sticky sweets. Lord, save me from Candyland.
He also went through a phase the first couple of weeks after she came home where, although he was blameless in any situation involving the baby, he was being a major pain in the ass most of the rest of the time. So, consciously he was cool with the new addition to the family, but maybe subconsciously he needed to register his ambivalence. Thankfully, in recent days he seems to be back to his usual self, which is about 90% sweet, fun, and endearing, and 10% rascally and exasperating. I’m not quite sure what turned things around, but I have a theory that it’s all thanks to Chutes and Ladders.
Can I tell you frankly that I hate the game Chutes and Ladders? I loved it when I was five, but as an adult, I’m finding it grindingly boring, and it often seems just interminable, especially when the frontrunner lands on a naughty square and gets shunted down a long chute. I don’t actually care who wins any given game of Chutes and Ladders, as long as someone wins within a reasonable span of time. But this is a game where luck changes very quickly, players often go plummeting down from somewhere very near the finish line, and the game can stretch on into an eternity of monotony.
O. loves the game, however, and I am all about spending time with my big boy here in the early weeks of this huge transition in his life, sharing the spotlight with his baby sister. We were given the game a couple weeks before Roo’s birth by our well-intentioned neighbors, and O. has taken to it with a passion just this past week. And somehow his difficult behavior and eerily adolescent attitude seem to have declined in inverse relation to our increasingly numerous daily games of what O. refers to as “Up the Ladder, Down the Chute.” I don’t know if the “moral lesson” aspect of the game (where good deeds are rewarded at the top of a ladder, and bad behavior leads to ill consequences at the bottom of a chute) is having an effect on him, or if it’s just the mere fact of more focused one-on-one time with one or both of his parents improving his general mood and outlook. I like to think it’s the latter, since I slightly resent what seems to me a simplistic and rather goody-goody morality at work behind the game. (I know, I analyze this shit too much.) But whatever the source, the apparent relation between improved O. attitude and games of Chutes and Ladders played makes an otherwise unbearable game considerably more tolerable for me.
I just hope none of our neighbors is planning to gift us with a copy of my other favorite game from early childhood. I haven’t played it in three decades, but I’m reasonably sure it’s as big a snoozefest as Chutes and Ladders. Plus it promotes extremely problematic values in terms of oral hygiene and overindulgence in sticky sweets. Lord, save me from Candyland.
posted by E. | 10:45 AM
8 Comments:
That's a beautiful photo of beautiful children. Congratulations!
Aw, what a heart-melting picture!
That striped furniture—is it retro? Ir reminds me of my in-laws' couch from the early '70s, only theirs had a pink and orange color scheme.
Gorgeous kiddos, great picture!!
And, oh, god--Candyland! It's every bit as mindnumbing as you're envisioning, but thankfully it doesn't often run long. My kids loved UNO at around that age, and I actually enjoy that one. It's worth a shot, at least...
I just love the way you write. Big vocabulary without feeling pretentious or stiff! Yummmy!
Here lies Feral, killed by cuteness.
Only two more days until I get to meet Roo! Can't wait!
Thanks, y'all!
Feral, I can't wait for you to meet Roo, too. And I can't wait to see you. We miss you something fierce around here.
Orange, the origins of the couch are unknown to me, since we got it at an estate sale. But I'd guess it's genuine '70s decor. All I know is, it's comfortable and not all puffy like couches these days seem to be. And it cost us $150 several years ago, which means I don't get uptight when stuff gets spilled on it. I can also stretch my 5'7" frame out on it comfortably, which is a bonus.
Great photo!
Oh. My. God. That picture is SOOOOOOOOO cute! I want another baby. It's settled. Thanks for the help!
As far as candyland goes, just pray that High School Musical has a quick death, or you may be yearning for some candyland a few years from now.
I've often said I'd gladly shoot myself rather than play another game of Candyland. Chutes and Ladders is pretty much the same thing, although it might be just a wee bit faster paced. Sorry is right up there for me as well. No wonder my grandma taught me to play poker when I was 10.
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