In, Out

There's a new game around here that's all the rage. The meditative value of placing things in and out of a container cannot be underestimated; it's toddler nirvana. As you may know from previous posts (or personal experience), Mister has for a while now enjoyed taking objects out of their place and scattering them around the apartment. But now he is graduating to the sequel, "in." He's elaborated on the standard Take All My Clothes Out of My Dresser Drawer game by adding Take All My Diapers Out of the Cabinet and Put Them Into the Now-Empty Dresser Drawer. The new and improved game, while interesting, didn't make things more fun for me.

In and out has spread to other activities, however, that have made things easier on his attendants. For example, Sasha pilfered the 2 of diamonds from a card deck and carried it to the hall closet. He proceeded to put the card in and out of the milk crate on the floor of the closet for 20 minutes. First the left side, then the right side, down deep and then just inside the rim, facing in or out, crumpled or straightened, etc. All this required extraordinary attention and focus, providing Mommy with some time to write an email or two. Even putting a wooden peg in and out of his toy bucket is good for at least 30 rounds of in and out. I was able to enjoy an entire cup of hot coffee at the Tea Lounge while Sasha put a quarter in and out of the cap to his bottle. Delightful for both of us.

One downside to the game is the collateral damage. I searched the house for the bottle of teething pills that I knew were around here somewhere. I finally gave up and used Tylenol. Weeks later, Nerdy tried to put a tape in the VCR and it wasn't going in. She fiddled with it a few minutes and lo and behold, a bottle of teething pills were hanging out inside. Or the time I was going insane trying to find a matching sock for Sasha. Days later, I saw a glimpse of it inside the plastic box where I keep sewing accessories-- in my closet, under a 20-pound heap of clothing. I still don't know how he managed to pry the lid open with one hand. Over the weekend, I found a small stash of Cheerios inside a bookshelf. I imagine this game will last for a while (this summer, Maya was still enjoying "hiding sings") and we will lose many things over the course of the coming months.