funny how
you sneak up, & I’ll sneak
Years before I had driven from Adelaide to Melbourne with my then partner. We towed behind us the tower of terror: all of our possessions lashed to a homemade trailer. His possessions were mostly tools and mine were mostly books.
In a seaside town we stopped with his best friend and her husband. They had a four-year-old boy and he and I fell in love. The grown-ups strolled on ahead down the wickety dunes, talking and idly watching the seagulls wheel overhead, and the two of us scampered and bolted, climbed under and hid. We found things in the sand which have no name. We found soft glass and seagrapes, rusted and tasting salty.
We burst back onto the roadside with its sparse traffic, three heads disappearing far out in front. In a rush of inspiration he turned to me: “I know! How about, you sneak up on your daddy, and I’ll sneak up on my daddy!”
I remember the feeling of protective love that washed me in that weird warm moment. I was so frightened of seeing the hope and ambition, the trickery, fade from his eyes and their expression subdue and dim. I was frightened he might suddenly realize: Ach no! You’re one of Them! But we did it. He sneaked up on his daddy. And I sneaked up on mine. Ambush!
8 comments on “you sneak up, & I’ll sneak”
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Yes, true.
Thank you for reading, Diane. I found this little boy so irresistible.
I have a lovely relationship with my 4 granddaughters. I always try to mirror their ages, in play & language style, which I find they enjoy greatly but I too worry that they will grow older & think me a silly old fraud.
Well, Diane, maybe they’ll actually appreciate that you spoke their language, that you are willing to play, that you don’t dismiss them and make them feel silly and diminished, that your child is alive in you. I think so.
How sweet, the innocence of children x x
That dark pain in the chest one feels when charged unexpectedly with protecting it. x
My son has been asked by young children whether he’s an adult, child or superhero!
How awesome is your son! That’s fantastic, Mark, thank you for saying so.