Arcade
I took my son to the video arcade today while his sister had a play date. He raced cars and motorcycles through virtual landscapes, kickboxed with scary man beasts, and assaulted evil doers with a variety of weaponry. It's true that boys are made from snips and snails and puppy dog's tails but you don't really know your son until you see him brandish a semi-automatic weapon and take-out terrorists positioned on the Tower Bridge in London. It is both comforting and disturbing to see Jack's considerable sharp shooting skills. I supposed that if I'm ever in a standoff with an ATF task force it will good to have Jack on my team.

Meanwhile Aly was playing with her friend Allie who lives in one of the many mini-Tara's on the other side of town. Allie's Dad is in the baseball hall of fame but, of course, I never heard of him. He has apparently opted to be a free agent and divorced Allie's mom, a drop-dead gorgeous blonde. Going over there to pickup my daughter is another one of those worlds collide experiences. WE get a lot of those. Things often happen that struck Terry and me funny that just stay in our private world. Like the time I was in the local pool with the kids. Aly asked a girl if the woman behind her was her Mom and girl replied "No that's my au pair". I don't know but hearing that through Aly's ears (who was just beginning to learn English then) and seeing the look on her face struck me as funny.
Then there was the event in Jack's kindergarten last year to celebrate the hatching of chicks the kids had been monitoring. They put on a little party called Chick Fest and invited all the parents. And there was Terry trying to bond with the other Sudbury moms with lines like "I wasn't sure how to dress for the Chick Fest. Thought I should wear a black bra and tight pants". No reaction.
It can be lonely here.