Playing with the Other Kids

This was one of my favorite activities of all.  In general, I really like kids.  Well…most kids.  So many of the kids are so playful and fun.  They just adored attention.  My poor son!  Once he figured out he would have to share his mom, the ugly green monster raged up (until he found something/someone else to entertain him).

It was truly difficult to go to the center without wanting to play with every single one of them.  I was torn between the whole attachment-philosophy thing (spending time with my kid) and wanting to enjoy everyone.  In the end, I rationalized that I have a lifetime of minutes, hours, days with my new son.  As long as I opened my arms every time he looked for me, it was OK to open my arms to the other kids, too.

What did I play? 

• Duck, Duck, Goose. 
• Then, they showed me their game that is a little bit similar except played with a koosh ball.  The kids sing a song back and forth (between the person walking around the ring and the kids in the ring) and eventually the walker drops the koosh behind someone.  That kid gets up and chases the walker and then throws the koosh at him/her.  Most of them missed, but HOLY-MOLY some of those koosh balls got whipped pretty hard (oh yeah, I was one of the culprits!).
• Bench press. (You know, the Superman thing where you lift the kid up.)  It started out great with the 18 lb kids.  I was quite cocky about my muscular strength.  When the 40 pounder wanted to play, I got a workout.  I think he enjoyed it the most, though.
• Soccer.  OK.  I am not ashamed to admit that the 3-year olds shamed my skills.
• Stories.  I couldn't really read a book.  Usually another kid would shove his book in front of my face and insist I read it, or the original kid would just keep pointing to one page and demand that I keep reading that page.
• Roll the ball.  This was better for the little kids (1 year olds). We all sat in a circle with our feet touching each other and rolled the plastic balls to each other.  This was especially good for the younger, not-quite-as-brawny kids who had trouble keeping up.
• Inflate the blow-up ball with a hole in it.  I didn't play; I just watched.  Basically the 99 cent inflatable balls would become damaged and the kids were desperate to blow them up.  24 mouths later, they were still deflated.
• Hide and Go Seek.  Not the advanced game you might think.  I just hid behind the potted plants and waited for my son or his cronies to come running to me (so I could grab them up in my arms and hug 'em).
• Maquina.  I arrived with 8 hot-wheels (or the generic version of them) and left with 2 which I fought for just to have on the airplane.  The crash, beep-beep game was the best.  Maquina is Amharic for car.
• Bucking Bronco.  Typically a grandpa game (sit the kid on your knee and try to shake them off).  This was fun all-around because the other kids enjoyed seeing the rider get bucked.  WARNING: It is especially critical that you have sufficient pants.  Many diapers are leaky or there are dribble residues on dresses/shorts.  You will go home moist and stinky if you play this game with enough kids.

I really enjoyed the kids in the Chicken Pox Club.  Not a real club, but it seemed many of the kids in quarrantine were members.  As an alumni of the Chicken Pox club, I was given full access.  My heart strings were tugged extra hard by them because they were segregated from (but could still see) the other kids having fun.

My all-time favorite kid (except mine, of course) was a 5-year old boy, T.  He was such a joy to play with.  He kind of hung back a bit, but once he was included he was all-heart.  I think he was a little bit reserved because he was one of the bigger kids and didn't fit as easily in a lap.  However, I have never seen such eyes sparkle when he was asked to sit on my lap.  Yup, his legs hung over awkwardly.  But boy could he hug and absorb love!!  And you can sink quarters in the dimples that appear when he smiles!  By the end of the week, he was proudly testing out all of his English on me.  I may have been especially drawn to him bc I left my 5 year old boy at home to pick up my new son, or because I saw the potential in this child, or because he is just a super kid.  To his new parent(s):  I am a bit envious.  You are getting such a great son.  But, you will also get my sympathies in about 10 years because you will be getting SO many phone calls at your house from the girls!  To T:  You have already made a difference in the world.  Because of you, my next child will be an older child who hopefully has just as much love, ambition and joie de vivre as you!  You will go far in this world.