"I'm going to be a kitty in a package!" one of them will call down the stairs as they're running up to brush their teeth and put on their pajamas. "We'll tell you when we're ready."
Mostly, these days, it's Ella who is the kitty in the package. (Or the bunny. Or the puppy. But mostly the kitty.) Madison wraps her up snugly in blankets, head and all, in a big lump on my bed, and turns out the lights. I walk in, and turn on the lights. What follows afterward is always exactly the same:
"Oh! Wow! Do you see that on my bed? What do you suppose it is? Why...it's a package! An awfully lumpy package, here. Hmmmm...(poke poke) what could it be? Oh, gee, look, here's a label! Oh, it's for ME! What do you think it is? Who could have sent it? I guess there's nothing to do but open it... Oh, my goodness, look! It's a beautiful little kitty! Oh, don't be scared, little kitty! I'm your new owner! Come here, right into my arms...Oh, look, she likes me! She's purring! She's nuzzling me! Do you want something, kitty? Would you like...would you like some milk? I just happen to have a mug here...you would? She likes it! "
I'm going to keep you and take care of you forever and ever. I'm such a lucky owner."
I'm really going to miss Kitty in a Package when they get older. No sign of them wanting to quit it, thank goodness, even though Madison is 9 1/2. I'm enjoying it while I can.
2 comments:
I still occasionally play about 30 seconds of a similar game with Felicia. The game is called lump-a-dump, and has a song I composed attached to it. "I'm looking for a lump-a-dump, a friendly little lump-a-dump. Where could the lump-a-dump be? Where could the lump-a-dump be?"
This makes me so happy, John! The idea that I might not actually lose this playful connection even when they're in their 20s... The prospect makes me not so sad about their growing up so fast.
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