Excuse me? I said, slightly miffed. And then I introduced them to the concept of the "Tomboy".
I told them about how I helped build numerous forts out of anything I could get my hands on, along with my sister and two best "boy" friends.
How we made our own putt-putt golf course under the pine trees and then played for hours.
How we went exploring in the hollows of rural Alabama, playing Land of the Lost alongside the creek and in the bluffs.
How we swung off rope swings into the creek, crossed ancient bridges over said creek, falling in the water on purpose and trying to catch the fish with our bare hands.
About when we went fishing with our grandmother on the banks of the river and then watched her clean the fish and cook it.
How we played cowboys and indians in the woods with our best friends until twilight in the summer.
How we went sledding down the steep hills in the woods during the one and only snow that we get in the winter, barely missing tree trunks and trying to stay on the winding trail as we went down.
About how I climbed up on a tree branch and then swung off it on the tire swing, when the rope broke and how I practically broke my tailbone when I landed on the ground, and how my grandmother heard me screaming and fainted on the porch.
About how my "boy" friends, my sister and I would lay on the dewy ground and watch for shooting stars and try to scare each other by saying we heard dinosaurs trampling the ground even though it was just far away thunder rolling.
My two boys looked at me like they didn't know who I was. I think they got a new respect for me that day. I guess it's hard for kids to imagine their parents as kids, having fun and playing, getting in trouble. But it's a good lesson for them to learn. I just hope they don't remember everything I said and then try to do it too. Thank God we don't have a tire swing.
Labels: childhood games tomboy friends
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