Tuesday, July 20, 2010

soak 'em up

Before I became a parent, I was certain that my children would never, ever play with toy weapons.

How could they, while being raised by a peace loving, tree hugging, gun loathing, bleeding heart liberal such as myself?


Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

This weekend we participated in the annual "Soak the Sensei" event at the bayside picnic hosted by our beloved Dojo. It's a chance for the kids to stalk and drench the adults whom they spend the other 364 days and 23 hours of each year addressing as "SIR!" and "MA'AM!"

After enjoying a gorgeously summerific lunch of burgers and dogs with pot luck sides (featuring my personal favorite: an entire table for chips alone), the kids geared up and followed their Sensei to the designated holding area to hear the simple rules:


no salt water, no spraying into eyes, and no shooting anyone outside of the boundaries of play.


And then they were set loose:



My boy was in his element, he could barely stand upright under the weight of all barrels filled, but that giant smile never left his face.

Check out my girl's game play:


Those orange markers on the grass are the boundary. My girl would watch and wait from the safey of the sidelines ....

then jump into the fray for a strategically planned strike before making a hasty retreat.

She and her cohorts stayed pretty dry until they turned on each other.

And then....


In the end, the thing I learn over and over again as a parent is that I should never say never. Who could have imagined that this tree loving, hippy hugging, happy hearted liberal was responsible for outfitting her kids with this most excellent arsenal? My only regret is not buying a family four pack. Bill and I are sitting ducks.

5 comments:

Me, You, or Ellie said...

I love all the colors and the palm trees and all those great faces.

My only regret? I wish there were more photos of Sensei Willie.

See you tomorrow!

Ellie

water weapons only in PA said...

my son had a really cool water gun that came with a water pack that you wore on your back.
this from a former Quaker school teacher :)
Enjoy your CT vacation!

Me, You, or Ellie said...

I love your girl's strategy. She is such a smart one.

But what I love more is that in the first photo that gun of hers is SO big, that you can't tell if she's wearing a one piece or a bikni. (Bikini!, which I also love; you need to get a photo with your girl with aunt Ellie in her polka dot bikini.

Love your boys smile and mobility!

I'm full of love today, no?

xo,
beth

Me, You, or Ellie said...

full of love, but lacking on punctuation, lol.

b

Anonymous said...

funny. i can recall vividly when i first started teaching how adamant i was about the do's and don't's of parenting. guns? never. TV instead of conversation? forbidden! junk food over healthy? OMG. Funny how things change and life takes a whole new look when you become a MOM. I lose more and more intelligence with every year of parenthood, so at this rate I'm in year 2 of "blubbering idiot".
--bridget