If you have followed my post, you know that I am visiting family due to the unexpected, sudden death of my grandpa. As it turns out, two of my cousins knocked up their girlfriends the same year I became pregnant. One cousin is two months older than Evan, and the other is older by four days. My cousin with the older boy married his girlfriend (before the boy was born), and they have a son two months younger than Sean. My family rarely produces girls. While my grandparents’ house is big and my grandma understands toddlers will be toddlers, I decided it’s better not to take the risk. So I herded the three toddlers with Sean in tow into the back yard to play.
Well, the first rule at my grandparents’ house is no walking, stepping, touching the pool decking (or as we call it from our childhood the cool decking). This is a tough rule for three-year-olds to follow. Hell, we had a tough enough time when we were twelve with the rule. Of course by that time, we swam like fish. So here I was with my cousins (who apparently they don’t think I can handle four kids. Ha), trying to keep the boys of the decking; while, they played a game of tag. Good luck. Well, I decided we needed a game. What game is easier than Red Light/ Green Light. Ha.
After explaining the meaning or the game and the colors, I had them stand about three yards away and yelled “Green light.” Evan knew what it meant, but damn if he was going to leave his playmates behind. So I yelled “Go! Run!” So they ran! And I yelled “Red Light!” And they ran. I laughed and told them to tag me, but they hugged me instead. So I lined them up and shouted “green light. go.” Then I shouted “red light. stop.” And of course, they ran, but this time they stopped after a yard. My older cousin laughed and told me that I made a lousy three-year-old teacher. I shouted back, “Hey, they’re not on the pool decking, are they? I think I met my goal.”
The game gets better as I choose Jacob to be “it.” The boy is so quiet. I wonder how he could be related to my loud-mouth family. I lean down and whisper to Jacob to yell green light. He nods. “Ok, Jacob, now. Yell green light.” He whisperd it. A little louder. He does, a little louder. So I yell it. But by the time, I get him to say red light, the boys are on him. So we try it again. Next is Broc who yells green light but runs to his cousins. Well, at least they’re off the pool decking.
Next they played soccer with my brother Tim as coach, who keeps kicking the ball into the pool. Finally he kicks it in about three feet from the edge, my three cousins, my brother, and I take two steps toward the pool and then realize how close we are to the pool and to each other. We immediately all back up, eyeing each other warily as we remembered being pushed in at one time or another while retrieving a ball or same other toy. Finally when two cousins go onto the porch to convince a favorite pool-pushed uncle to retrieve the ball and I was too busy playing the ball, my brother and another cousin teamed together to get the ball out. Granted they had to keep the pool between them. I guess old habits die hard. I still won’t pee during a favorite show just in case my husband learns the house rule of when you leave the room you forfeit the remote. Sometimes it’s nice to be married to an only child.
And where is Sean in all of this, oh he’s running with the boys because he thinks he’s just as big. Oh and he said his first clear sentence. “I like that.” That being when he’s Papi holds him up to the ceiling so he can touch it.
Faemom 
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