1 Mother 2 Another

My daughter is an adrenaline junkie.


As if chasing after a naked superhero weren’t enough, I have
to periodically scare those (optional) pants off my kid. For fun.


Yes, we’ve reached the stage in Maddie’s development
where she absolutely loves hide and seek. Not content to simply
have you hide and then seek you out in good, old-fashioned, calm
style, Maddie wants you to hide and stay hidden while she
stealthily (ish) creeps around the house trying to find you. Just
before she gives up but after she’s exhausted all her places
to look my Xtreme Adventure girl wants you to jump out of your
hiding place and scream at her.

Honestly, if I had a quarter for every
time my daughter’s eyes have actually popped out of her head,
I’d be in a lifetime supply of Jacques Torres.


And after she’s screamed and peed in her pants and danced
around a bit, her first words are “More hide! Again,
Mama!” I’ve seen her scrabble around on the floor in a
desperate attempt to get away from my husband as he jumps out at
her. I’ve seen her scream like a dolphin, jump so you see
daylight, and turn around in a circle. And then say, “More
hide!”


She never tires of it, though she does occasionally consent to do a
role reversal and go hiding herself. Unfortunately, Maddie’s
still in the “If I can’t see them then they can’t
see me” phase of development, and her idea of hiding is often
just to stick her head behind a chair back, then say, “Where
is she?” Which, of course, is your cue to say, “Where
is she? Where’s Maddie?” as you watch her hiney wriggle
with delight and anticipation. Eventually she won’t be able
to bear it and she’ll pop her head back up as you feign
delight and surprise.


The good news is that if she’s doing the hiding, you
don’t have to go hunt for her – just wait for her to
reveal herself. The bad news is that this doesn’t last long
before she’s ready to go back to being scared.


I think I see a future of teen horror flicks coming up.