A Fork and a Piece of String
Every week I put 'write a blog post' on my list but unfortunately it hasn't happened very often. I've been writing a food memoir but have been keeping it kind of close for the moment. So when I think about other things I might want to write on the blog, I sometimes come up short.
But as always, my niece Sinead, has inspired me again.
I watched her and her sister yesterday. The girls were playing with a fork tied to a piece of string. I know, right? I imagine Fiona was holding a fork and some tape flitted by her and she was standing on some string and voila! a toy. That girl makes trinkets out of everything. I'll look away for a second and when I turn back she is handing me an origami cat. The girls were taking turns with the fork and string and throwing it at the tree in their front yard. It would wrap around a branch and then they would yank on it until it flew back at them.
While they were engaged in this child-safe game I was filling their water bottles so we could head to the park to meet some friends. As soon as I opened the door to leave, I was met by a crying Sinead. Somehow, against all odds, she had been struck by the fork. I comforted her and stroked her head where she said Fiona had hit her with the fork ON PURPOSE! Hell hath no furry than a woman being struck in the head by a fork. Fiona, deeply hurt by this inaccurate accusation, stomped to her room. I asked Sinead if it still hurt and she sobbed, "What do you think?! OF COURSE IT DOES!" I comforted her on the couch until she claimed she needed to play a game on my phone to feel better.
I went and checked on Fiona and she explained what had happened. Sinead was crowding her, LIKE SHE ALWAYS DOES, and when she threw it she didn't realize she was stepping on the string. So instead of flying to a tree branch, it struck her crowd-er of a sister in the head. Well this just killed me. I laughed until Fiona started laughing and growling, completely conflicted with how she felt about this.
When I explained to Sinead what had happened she started to argue. I cut her off to tell her it reminded me of the time that we were playing with water balloons and I caught one above her head and it popped with a giant sploosh and soaked us both.
But as always, my niece Sinead, has inspired me again.
I watched her and her sister yesterday. The girls were playing with a fork tied to a piece of string. I know, right? I imagine Fiona was holding a fork and some tape flitted by her and she was standing on some string and voila! a toy. That girl makes trinkets out of everything. I'll look away for a second and when I turn back she is handing me an origami cat. The girls were taking turns with the fork and string and throwing it at the tree in their front yard. It would wrap around a branch and then they would yank on it until it flew back at them.
While they were engaged in this child-safe game I was filling their water bottles so we could head to the park to meet some friends. As soon as I opened the door to leave, I was met by a crying Sinead. Somehow, against all odds, she had been struck by the fork. I comforted her and stroked her head where she said Fiona had hit her with the fork ON PURPOSE! Hell hath no furry than a woman being struck in the head by a fork. Fiona, deeply hurt by this inaccurate accusation, stomped to her room. I asked Sinead if it still hurt and she sobbed, "What do you think?! OF COURSE IT DOES!" I comforted her on the couch until she claimed she needed to play a game on my phone to feel better.
I went and checked on Fiona and she explained what had happened. Sinead was crowding her, LIKE SHE ALWAYS DOES, and when she threw it she didn't realize she was stepping on the string. So instead of flying to a tree branch, it struck her crowd-er of a sister in the head. Well this just killed me. I laughed until Fiona started laughing and growling, completely conflicted with how she felt about this.
When I explained to Sinead what had happened she started to argue. I cut her off to tell her it reminded me of the time that we were playing with water balloons and I caught one above her head and it popped with a giant sploosh and soaked us both.
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