Flashback Saturday

The Game

My parents, when married and raising Steven and I, seemed happy. We had a pretty good childhood. I give partial credit for that to the fact that my parents had their kids when they were young themselves. They were 21 & 20 when Steven was born, and 22&21 when I came along. I really believe that being young with your kids is the way to go... that is, in part, why I too had my children at the relatively young ages of 21, 24 and 25.

My parents were fun. They were fun to be around. They played with us. We had a goofy game we played, the four of us. It never really had a name, all it required to start was my mother grabbing the bright orange uglier-than-all-get-out pillow. It was a fake fur, almost like the fabric one would use to create a Muppet. It was roughly 12x12 square. My mother would grab the pillow and give Steven and I a look, raise an eyebrow and the mischief would begin.

There were a few rules of the game, first off it was only played at night. It had to be dark. The lights were all off in the house, save for one, the obligatory light over the kitchen sink. that was more for safety than anything, but sometimes, even that little bulb will not stop the inevitable.There were two teams for this game, kids versus adults. Steven and I had our 'base of operations' in the basement. Looking back, this was pretty crumby. It was not a finished basement, it was a dirt floor, cob web filled, dank, dark scary place. We didn't actually go down there for our 'meetings', we simply shut the door at the top of the stairs and stayed glued to the backside of the door. This is where we hatched our plans.

Mom and Dad had the rest of the house. They also had the orange pillow. Steven and I had the task of capturing it. My mother would hide it somewhere in the house, usually as far from the basement door as possible, and they would hide and wait in the dark to attack and tickle us as we tried to find and steal the pillow.

The main fun of the game was not the hunt, but rather, find them and SEE them before they could jump out and scare the bejesus out of us. We accomplished that task about as often as that damn pillow made it to the basement. but it was fun to be with my parents, and looking back, I think that was what made the game so great.

There were a few spots in the house that became obvious hiding spots for them, they used them often. As you walked through the kitchen, there was a counter top separated it from the dining room. You could almost count on either Mom or Dad to be crouched behind the counter on the dining room side, to grab your legs as you walked through the doorway. From the dining room you took a right turn into the living room, where, on your right was usually the other one waiting just inside the archway between those rooms. If not there, there was always the area by the fireplace in the family room, or the dark hallway leading to the bathroom and the stairs to the second level. We were used to being scared from those locations, they were 'the norm'.

We were not prepared for the hiding place Mom found on the last night we played the game. It was a great place to hide, but getting out of it in one piece proved to be her (literal) downfall.

As you walked into the kitchen the fridge was directly on your right. Sitting next to that was a counter top... not built in, just a metal type cabinet with a linoleum top to it. It was wedged between the fridge and the stove.Unbeknown to us, as we plotted our next attack behind the basement door, my Mother climbed up on that metal cabinet. Her plan was to jump out and block our path back to the basement after we had retrieved the pillow. Dad's job was to come from behind us and scare us after we turned to run from Mom.

As we crept into the house, we checked the 'normal' spots... no parents. It was easy...too easy to find the pillow. We should have known something was up when we saw it laying right there on the couch. Normally they hid it under a desk, or on a dining room chair that was pushed in all the way. But we were kids, and decided it was just our good fortune to have come across the 'treasure' before we came across the 'enemy'. Steven grabbed the pillow and lead the way as we scurried back through the dining room, heading towards the kitchen, and beyond that, the safety of the basement. We were going to win! For once!

But it was not to be... As we entered the kitchen, Mom was off on her timing. I made it past her, just barely. I think Steven heard her before he saw her, and grabbed me and shoved me ahead of him, throwing the pillow into my arms. Later, he said that he gave it to me because he knew that THEY knew that he always had the damn thing, and they were probably coming after him... he was willing to sacrifice himself for the team.

She did manage to grab him, by the shirt as she went down. I am not sure exactly HOW my mother did what she did, as I said, I was already halfway through and almost to the basement door when we heard the crash. I believe she had shifted her weight to the front of the cabinet, and with a deep toe kick on it, the darn thing just became too front-heavy. Mom, and the cabinet, and all the pots, pans and other various cookware stored within came bursting forward into the middle of the kitchen with a loud clutter and a few choice swear words. I think my Mother's pride was the second most bruised, right after her knees.

She had been crouching, and when she flew, she landed on her knees, amidst the cookware. That ended the game for the night, and, sadly, it was the last time we played.

I just wish I had that damn pillow, maybe carry the tradition on with my kids... besides, all of my kitchen cabinets are built in!