So we all put on sweatshirts and headed outside for a little baseball. Scout and Flora caught on to hitting the ball fairly quickly and were actually pretty good at it -- I was surprised. Timber was completely content to chase down all the hit balls and run them back to Chris. I was just happy to be out of the house and not in charge of entertainment for a while.
Once the cold wind finally drove us back inside we pulled out the fishing game. The kids were all quite amused at this one! It's a classic!
And then it was on to a game of Go Fish. It started out fine -- we explained the rules as best we could while trying to keep everyone's cards separate and out of Timber's grasp. We had gone around the circle taking turns twice and it was Flora's turn again. She asked Chris if he had a TWO, he said, "Go Fish!", and she burst into tears. I think I've mentioned before that the drama runs strong in that one. She cried pitifully in my lap for a moment and then ran off to cry in her bed. Who knew Go Fish could be so traumatic??
We finished the game (Scout beat Chris and me) and then Chris entertained the boys while I had a talk with Flora. She finally agreed to play another game of Go Fish with me. We locked ourselves in the bedroom and had a lovely game of Go Fish. She won, of course, and was excited to go tell the boys about her success. And that was it. She made her peace with Go Fish and was begging to play again by the end of the night.
I'm afraid she's going to be just like me. I think I turned out okay but I'm sure my parents can attest to the fact that new experiences, unfamiliar places or people, and any activity at which I was not proficient could bring me to tears. I cried the first day of school until 5th grade! Anyway, I think Flora started crying during Go Fish tonight because she didn't completely understand the game. It's going to be a long fourteen years.....but at least her future in softball looks bright!
