When you are blessed beyond measure to have two healthy, active, inquisitive boys, you play a lot of games. Sure, there's Sorry, Trouble, Candyland (always a staple), Guess Who, UNO and, lately, Life. What I've been thinking about lately, though, are the games J.P. and Joe have made up and played over the years, with Jude, me or each other.
Usually, these games last for a little while before they're forgotten by the boys, only to be remembered fondly by Jude and me as we recall days and times past. I thought it might be fun to list and describe a few of these games, in no particular order.
Hallway Hockey
This was a huge game in our old house on Elliott Avenue. Huge. From the age of 3 years old, J.P. played hockey in the downstairs hallway of our house. Over the years, the sticks grew longer until he was using a regulation hockey stick. For pucks, he used everything from "official" NHL hockey balls to a soft pock to a souvenir hard puck.
The fact that the hallway is not a long one is proof positive that kids will find ways to play games and entertain themselves wherever they are with whatever they have on hand. The rules were simple, as J.P. would stand at one end of the hallway and try to hit the puck through my (or Jude's) legs. Then, we would do the same, all while keeping up a running commentary of the game. J.P. was almost always the Predators and Jude or I would be another team. J.P. always won.
As soon as he was old enough to walk, Joe picked up Hallway Hockey, and he and J.P. played together at time.
Sock Baseball and Pretend Baseball
This is a recent game invented by Joe, after we moved into the new house on Linden Avenue. I think Joe started playing it during the Vanderbilt baseball team's run to the finals of the College World Series, as we were watching a lot of the game.
In its original incarnation, we played in the den, with a sock for the baseball. There were 3 positions - catcher, batter and pitcher - and we all took turns playing each position. The catcher sat in one of my "man chairs," with the batter standing next to him. The pitcher "pitched" the sock and the batter hit it with his hand. Then, the pitcher got the sock and tried to hit the batter with it as he (or she) ran through the den, kitchen or bedroom. You get the picture, right?
The more comical version of the game involves the same rules, but with no sock for a baseball. It's truly "pretend baseball" and can be played anywhere. Literally anywhere. We've played it at restaurants, parties, J.P.'s baseball or soccer games, the beach, etc.
Home Run Derby
We haven't played this a lot, but man is it fun! J.P. and I took our wiffle ball bat and several balls (with one piece of blue electrical tape strategically placed on the middle of the ball) to the large, grassy, sunken courtyard of sorts at the old apartment complex on Belmont Boulevard, down from Bongo Java. We set up home plate so the batter, when he made good contact, could hit a home run over the wall and onto the sidewalk or into the street (Belmont Boulevard). As an added incentive, I told J.P. I would buy him a Las Paletas popsicle for every home run he hit. Good stuff.
Upside Down Basketball and Alley Oop Basketball
Man, this was one of my all time favorite games in the old house. In what can only be described as a stroke of creative genius, Carley (our nanny and friend) set up a small basketball court in J.P.'s room, complete with tape on the floor for a free throw line and a 3-point line. J.P.'s room wasn't big and the basketball court was wedged between the end of his bed and a chest of drawers. The basketball goal (a modern day version of a Nerf hoop from my childhood) was attached to a door that opened up into a small crawl space. The door itself was about half the size of a normal door, like something a hobbit might walk through, so it was the perfect height for 3-year old J.P. and, later, Joe.
I think that basketball goal provided J.P. and Joe with more hours of entertainment than anything in our old house. Initially, J.P. couldn't reach the rim, as hard as he would try. As he grew older and taller, he was able to dunk the plastic basketball, tentatively at first, then with authority. We reenacted many, many NBA and SEC basketball games, complete with the announcement of starting lineups, jump balls, halftime speeches and lots of basketball. It was awesome.
J.P. and I invented a game called "upside down basketball." To play, he or I laid down on his bed, with our head at the foot of the bed, near the basketball. And we tried to make a basket upside down. If he or I hit a basket, the other "dog piled" the shooter on the bed.
Later, we played lots of "alley oop basketball," where I laid on J.P.'s bed and threw him countless alley oops that dunked in the basketball goal. Bounce pass alley oops, off the wall alley oops, etc. Hours of fun.
One of the saddest moments of our move, for me, was when I pulled up the blue tape from the basketball court in J.P.'s room. It had been there so long that it stripped the finish off the wooden floor so I could see where the basketball court had been. Fitting, I think.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
The End of the Innocence
(originally written on my iPad on Saturday, October 17, 2015)
It's an exquisite Saturday afternoon in Nashville, truly one of the perfect days of the year weather-wise. At long last, summer has officially turned to fall. The temperature this morning was in the low-40's and now, at 3:30 p.m., it's 59 degrees. Perfect.
I'm sitting at Edley's BBQ in 12South, having a Calfkiller Grassroots APA. For maybe the last time - ever - Joe is alongside in the stroller, sleeping contentedly in what is quickly turning into a crowded bar. I can't remember the last time I took him out for a stroll and a nap in the City Elite. Truth be told, I thought these lazy afternoons were gone forever, as he almost always naps (or doesn't, depending on his mood) in his bed at home.
Today, J.P. had a midday soccer game - his last of the season - and Tracy, Matthew, Kaitlyn and my mom stopped by the house for lunch afterwards. When they left, I coaxed Joe into the stroller with the promise of watching "the Eggs" (a Thomas the Train "claymation sort of" video we discovered on Youtube) after he woke up from his nap. Now, here we are again, Joe and me, occupying a place in time we've occupied so many times over the last 3 1/2 years.
Looking around at Edley's - it's packed - I'm reminded of how much I love living where I live, in a vibrant neighborhood in a city where I can walk to restaurants, bars, coffee shops and a park. The youthful energy in Edley's today is palpable. On the televisions in the bar, I can choose from the MLP Playoffs (Toronto - Kansas City) or a myriad of college football games (Michigan-Michigan Stae [the resurgence of UM with Jim Harbaugh at the helm]; Alabama-Texas A & M ['Bama is still 'Bama]; and OU-Kansas State. Lots of couples, friends, football fans of various schools and a few families, eating a late lunch, drinking beer or just hanging out on the patio on a Saturday afternoon in 12South.
And me, with Joe, sitting at a table in the bar typing away on my iPad.
Sometime, many times, really I do love my life. Now is one of those times. I live in the hottest part of the "IT" city. How lucky am I?
It's 2015, late in the year. Beards are back in a big way. Not just beards, but unkempt, out of control beards. Craft beer is huge. In middle Tennessee, anyway, everyone wants to live in the city, inside the perimeter. Our neighborhood - Belmont/12South is teeming with activity. On every block, there are houses being razed or renovated. New restaurants or businesses are opening up every day. It's unbelievable.
Jude is redecorating our house on Linden Avenue, room by room, slowly but surely. I've got an estimate to hang new televisions, wire surround sound, re-cable the basement and improve our wifi capabilities, all of which should be done by the end of the month. I'm working on screening in our back porch. In short, it appears we're city mice for the long haul, which is completely fine by me.
It's a kick watching Spencer behind the bar at Edley's. He spends most of his time at Edley's BBQ East (Nashville) these days, unlike the old days, when he was at Edley's BBQ in 12South almost every day. He's the right kind of bartender - for me, anyway. He can make any drink known to man, he's always in a good mood and he never forgets a name. Most importantly, he'll have a drink with you late in his shift, must for a good bartender in my book.
So, back to my man, Joe. He's at Children's House this fall, which is awesome. Every day he comes home singing new songs and using new words. Lately, he's starting saying things like "S-S-S-Snake. Snake starts with an S." So cool. I'm finishing my last year on the Board of Directors at Children's House, so I'm pretty tuned into what's going on there. God, I love that place. I'm so happy Joe is there, in Classroom B, with Ms. Michele and Ms. Tess. At night, he talks about his new friends - Pike, Molly, Owen, Alp, Theo - the list goes on and on. It's pretty special and I'm glad Joe is there five days a week.
I'm also happy Joe is with Carley for the afternoons on Tuesday and Thursday. I wouldn't want it any other way. Carley has been such an important part of J.P.'s and Joe's lives for so long. That's an entire blog post in its own right, truly, but who much if who they are is who she is and that's fabulous.
Soon, in some ways, too soon, Joe will begin playing sports (baseball this spring), having play dates, then starting school presumably at USN. And these special, quiet, contemplative afternoons will be gone, never to return except in the recesses of my memory. Afternoons like this, a cacophony of voices and happy noises enveloping us in a warm, comforting cocoon in a bar where I call the bartenders my friends, where I can enjoy a respite from my busy life, drinking beer while Joe naps in the City Elite, they will fade away completely. And I'll be sad, although I'll treasure these happy memories for the rest of my days.
First J.P., then Joe, and me, strolling through the neighborhood, destination Bongo Java, Frothy Monkey, Belmont U., Mafiozza's, 12South Tap Room, PM, Boulevard, Chago's Cantina, etc. So many places, so many weekend afternoons, so my miles traveled, so many idyllic timeouts from the daily grind that is, at time, my life. Just me and one of my boys, stopping or at least slowing down life for an hour or two. Again, and again and again.
It's an exquisite Saturday afternoon in Nashville, truly one of the perfect days of the year weather-wise. At long last, summer has officially turned to fall. The temperature this morning was in the low-40's and now, at 3:30 p.m., it's 59 degrees. Perfect.
I'm sitting at Edley's BBQ in 12South, having a Calfkiller Grassroots APA. For maybe the last time - ever - Joe is alongside in the stroller, sleeping contentedly in what is quickly turning into a crowded bar. I can't remember the last time I took him out for a stroll and a nap in the City Elite. Truth be told, I thought these lazy afternoons were gone forever, as he almost always naps (or doesn't, depending on his mood) in his bed at home.
Today, J.P. had a midday soccer game - his last of the season - and Tracy, Matthew, Kaitlyn and my mom stopped by the house for lunch afterwards. When they left, I coaxed Joe into the stroller with the promise of watching "the Eggs" (a Thomas the Train "claymation sort of" video we discovered on Youtube) after he woke up from his nap. Now, here we are again, Joe and me, occupying a place in time we've occupied so many times over the last 3 1/2 years.
Looking around at Edley's - it's packed - I'm reminded of how much I love living where I live, in a vibrant neighborhood in a city where I can walk to restaurants, bars, coffee shops and a park. The youthful energy in Edley's today is palpable. On the televisions in the bar, I can choose from the MLP Playoffs (Toronto - Kansas City) or a myriad of college football games (Michigan-Michigan Stae [the resurgence of UM with Jim Harbaugh at the helm]; Alabama-Texas A & M ['Bama is still 'Bama]; and OU-Kansas State. Lots of couples, friends, football fans of various schools and a few families, eating a late lunch, drinking beer or just hanging out on the patio on a Saturday afternoon in 12South.
And me, with Joe, sitting at a table in the bar typing away on my iPad.
Sometime, many times, really I do love my life. Now is one of those times. I live in the hottest part of the "IT" city. How lucky am I?
It's 2015, late in the year. Beards are back in a big way. Not just beards, but unkempt, out of control beards. Craft beer is huge. In middle Tennessee, anyway, everyone wants to live in the city, inside the perimeter. Our neighborhood - Belmont/12South is teeming with activity. On every block, there are houses being razed or renovated. New restaurants or businesses are opening up every day. It's unbelievable.
Jude is redecorating our house on Linden Avenue, room by room, slowly but surely. I've got an estimate to hang new televisions, wire surround sound, re-cable the basement and improve our wifi capabilities, all of which should be done by the end of the month. I'm working on screening in our back porch. In short, it appears we're city mice for the long haul, which is completely fine by me.
It's a kick watching Spencer behind the bar at Edley's. He spends most of his time at Edley's BBQ East (Nashville) these days, unlike the old days, when he was at Edley's BBQ in 12South almost every day. He's the right kind of bartender - for me, anyway. He can make any drink known to man, he's always in a good mood and he never forgets a name. Most importantly, he'll have a drink with you late in his shift, must for a good bartender in my book.
So, back to my man, Joe. He's at Children's House this fall, which is awesome. Every day he comes home singing new songs and using new words. Lately, he's starting saying things like "S-S-S-Snake. Snake starts with an S." So cool. I'm finishing my last year on the Board of Directors at Children's House, so I'm pretty tuned into what's going on there. God, I love that place. I'm so happy Joe is there, in Classroom B, with Ms. Michele and Ms. Tess. At night, he talks about his new friends - Pike, Molly, Owen, Alp, Theo - the list goes on and on. It's pretty special and I'm glad Joe is there five days a week.
I'm also happy Joe is with Carley for the afternoons on Tuesday and Thursday. I wouldn't want it any other way. Carley has been such an important part of J.P.'s and Joe's lives for so long. That's an entire blog post in its own right, truly, but who much if who they are is who she is and that's fabulous.
Soon, in some ways, too soon, Joe will begin playing sports (baseball this spring), having play dates, then starting school presumably at USN. And these special, quiet, contemplative afternoons will be gone, never to return except in the recesses of my memory. Afternoons like this, a cacophony of voices and happy noises enveloping us in a warm, comforting cocoon in a bar where I call the bartenders my friends, where I can enjoy a respite from my busy life, drinking beer while Joe naps in the City Elite, they will fade away completely. And I'll be sad, although I'll treasure these happy memories for the rest of my days.
First J.P., then Joe, and me, strolling through the neighborhood, destination Bongo Java, Frothy Monkey, Belmont U., Mafiozza's, 12South Tap Room, PM, Boulevard, Chago's Cantina, etc. So many places, so many weekend afternoons, so my miles traveled, so many idyllic timeouts from the daily grind that is, at time, my life. Just me and one of my boys, stopping or at least slowing down life for an hour or two. Again, and again and again.
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