There seems to be no activity that cannot be turned into a sporting contest by a few kids, and tonight was no exception. I'm sure if our neighbors had stepped outside, they would have heard the laughter and shouts of encouragement that filled our kitchen tonight. It's become a Friday night tradition here: Meema and Beepa's Annual Apple Dunking Contest. Of course, it didn't start out as a contest; we intended it to be just good old fashioned fun. Until Izzi broke out the stopwatch. From then on it was cutthroat, pure and simple. The only exception to the rule is little Gemma, who was, on account of her not yet being quite four, given the concession of an apple with a stem. Let it not be said that there is no grace and mercy here!
The rest are not so fortunate. Izzi is a ruthless timekeeper, unfortunately for Ian, because he is plain terrible as an apple-dunker. He chased that slippery sucker all around the washtub, unlike Abi, who holds the record at .26 seconds.The best thing about Ian is that although he came out dead last, he remained just as enthusiastic as ever. He even tallied up the scores, averaged them and announced the winners with great flair. We are thinking that apple dunking would make a good interscholastic sport. After a bit of cajoling, even Meema got into the act, although she refused a second attempt to better her score.
I've talked often about the joys of having our grandchildren nearby so we can have these Friday night times together. It is a gift not many people enjoy, especially as the kids all get along so well together. The Bible says that God sets the solitary in families. He never intended that people live isolated from one another. Family is where we learn to love, to listen, to lift one another up. We got a (literal) taste of that this evening. When it was all over, we mopped up all the water, put everything away, and enjoyed sliced apples and caramel. Not a bad way to end the day; not bad at all.
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