Every now and then the sun comes out in Wisconsin and we rub our eyes in wonder.
“Why lookee (not directly) there,” we say to the youngins, and they turn those pale little faces upward and smile.
While it’s too soon to swim and too slushy to swing, we invent all kinds of games to amuse ourselves when the sun pops out.
The Shadow Game, for instance, involves agility, teamwork and an ability to leap like the aging, gimpy, gazelle your young opponent imagines you to be.
It’s an inverse hot lava and you don’t have to tip over any furniture to play it.
Also, it’s really fun.
Invented by an eight-year old on a sunny day last week, the Shadow Game relies on time of day and year, and length of sidewalk and stride. It goes like this: –are you writing this down?– You walk in the shadows.
That’s it but it’s actually kind of hard. We discovered that a taller person can share her shadow with a smaller person and ferry him across the street.
You do have to get your whole foot into the shadow, unless you can balance for long enough on your tip toes. It helps to live in a neighborhood with lots of trees and friendly neighbors who are kind enough to look the other way when they see you galumphing up the street.
Anyway, it made our walk to school even more amusing than usual and we’re looking forward to playing it again.
We hope you find some fun in the sun, or in the shadows, today.
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