Hide and Seek

There's a concave hollow behind the stone grill.  That might make a good hiding place, which I need.  Need some time to think.  Wow, does that bring back memories.

There were plenty of kids in the neighborhood where I grew up.  Unless the weather was really bad, we'd be outside playing.  No video games, or texting, or kid TV.  We got plenty of fresh air.

In the winter, sledding on a hill in a town park about a mile away was great.  Our parents always wanted us home well before dark though.  During the summer, baseball was the game during the day, but as sunset approached, the ball got harder to see.  Or, we might head over to a town swimming pool, but again, our parents would want us home before dark.

Of course, we wanted to stay outside as long as we could, so what better game to extend a day then "hide and seek".

As dusk settled in, the shouts of someone who was "it", counting up, and then hollering "anybody round my goal is it" could be heard.  The lengthening shadows helped the hiders.  Plus, nimble, flexible kids can squeeze into places you'd never think of.  All in all, the hiders had the advantage.

As if that wasn't enough, the rules we played by seemed to favor the hiders even more.  If the seeker, who was considered "it", found someone and tagged them, that kid became "it".  The other hiders would be called in, and the next round would start.

But if the found kid could run back to the goal without being tagged, they were still safe.  Even worse, if a hidden kid could sneak back to the goal without being seen, they could call "ally, ally, in free" and all of the hiders were safe.  The poor "it" had to start counting all over again.

If someone a little slower, either physically or otherwise, became "it", they could be stuck there until complete darkness resulted in our parents dragging us all in.  Kids can be cruel.

At some point, a special rule was added to the game because of me.  The rule said that if everyone didn't come in for the start of a round, if someone just stayed hidden, the gang would wait for a minute, then start the next round.

There were just some times when I wanted to stay hidden; just wanted to spend some time alone letting my imagination loose.  Kind of like this evening.  I didn't know if the family members at the barbeque would know of the "let him stay out there" rule or not.  I didn't care.

Julie told me last night that our first child was on its way.  In early December, we'd no longer just be playing house.  Our two would become three.

The hiding place behind the grill would have worked great if I was short, and weighted in at 90 pounds soaking wet.  These days, not so much.  The shadows would help though, as they had twenty years ago.

If you, dear reader, are about now thinking that I'm some kind of wimp that wants to figure a way out, you're wrong.  A child is something Julie and I have talked about, and dreamed about to complete us.

No, what I wanted to think about was how to incorporate this wonder into my writing.  Your first child was momentous enough that flash fiction wouldn't be big enough.  A novella at least, if not a full fledged major book.

Maybe a story about a kid enjoying "hide and seek".  It was part of a great way to grow up.  I can tell that story.