An education

I don't know if this is true of all kids or just my kids, but to Grace and Julia, their dad is the playful parent. Craig will lay on the floor and act out scenes, including sound effects, with animal figurines or army guys--an activity that would last only five minutes with me. He doesn't mind being used as a jungle gym, and he can provide horseback rides upon request. I'm not a total slouch in this area, but play with me tends to be more crafty and doesn't require a falsetto voice.

I think Craig takes the girl's education on all things play very seriously or maybe it's just that he's still a kid at heart. Over the last several years he has tried to cultivate in them an appreciation of toys from his past (which is partly why I think his efforts aren't really about Grace and Julia, but about playtime for him), so it should be no surprise that Star Wars is very, very important in our lives. Now the girls haven't actually seen much of the movies--their education centers primarily on play with figurines and storytelling. By the time they do see the movies, I imagine each of them will be able anticipate the plot-line and cite arcane details.

Why am I telling you this? Well this whole post is geared to show you some of Craig's night-time ritual with the girls. I can't remember when this started, but for some time he has been reading old Star Wars comics as bedtime stories. I wish you could actually be in the room to watch Grace and Julia pepper him with questions or hear his impersonation of C3PO. Life is made of moments, right? And I love these moments.