you know how they always say it's the simplest things - like the box the toy came in - that kids like the most?
i gave charlie and olivia a coupla (very cool) flashlights for Christmas. you'da thought i'd given 'em the eiffel tower.
first thing charlie says is, "come on, gram! let's go look for ghosts!" (like that's what every family is doing on Christmas morning)
so, off we go........down the hall.........with all the lights (except charlie's flashlight) turned off.........looking for ghosts.
nope, none here. let's try olivia's bedroom! surely olivia's bedrooom has ghosts!
we tiptoe softly into olivia's room. "shhhhhhhh!" charlie admonishes me. (you'd think i'd just know to do that by now, wouldn't ya?)
he looks in her closet........nope.
under the pile of whatever it is she left in the middle of the floor.
nope.
by now, the rest of the family has joined us. grandpa rankin is doing his best eerie ghost voice. and he's pretty good at it, too. so good, in fact, that my mom scolded him......."now, don! don't scare 'em to death!" my dad looked at my mom like she was nuts - which she is - and made the scariest ghost face he could at her, with his eyes all rolling back in his head and his tongue hangin' out. he got in her face and went, "aaaaaaaahhhhhh, ooooooooo, eeeeeeeee" at her.
i bet that ride back home was interesting.
anyway.......back to the action.......charlie tells me to crawl under the bed and see if there are any ghosts under there.
"i can't crawl under the bed, charlie! i'm too big!"
"ok, then. grandpa? you crawl under the bed!"
"i can't crawl under the bed, charlie. i'm too big!"
"then olivia. olivia, crawl under the bed."
olivia looks this way and that. she meets my gaze. i nod - letting her know it's o.k. dad does his ghost voice........
livvy bends down. thank heavens her flashlight is neon pink cuz otherwise, i don't think she'd agree to this......
"do you see any ghosts, olivia?" charlie half-screams.........
"YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!," olivia fully screams. "YES!!!!!!!!! there's a ghost under there!!!!!!!"
charlie runs outa the room.
my mom says, "see, don? i told you!"
i look under the bed (olivia says, "i thought you said you were too big, gammy?????").
there, under olivia's bed, right by the headboard, is a black wig, just laying there in a creepy lump. it's part of the twins' imaginative play costumes that they have. and it's doing a very good job of looking creepy and scary!
or maybe it wasn't part of the twins' imaginative play costumes........
maybe it really was.............
