Famliy magic

There are different kinds of magic. There's the sorcery kind. Don't worry, that's not the kind we're talking about. There's also the slight-of-hand kind. I don't like that kind. I know there's a logical explanation for it all but I can never catch the magician at his trick so it just makes me mad. Well, except when my little children try a trick for the first time. Now those tricks I can figure out. A third type of magic could be called family magic. This is the kind that can make a garage door magically go up for the toddler who has never seen it before. It's also the kind that can make sandwiches appear by saying "Abracadabra ala Peanut Butter Sandwiches" and sneaking the plate around the other side of the unsuspecting preschooler. Sometimes, however, it goes terribly wrong. Take last night for example.

Eden had been wanting to watch a particular movie ever since we got it out of the library earlier this week. It was finally time; I said she and HopeAnne could watch it after supper. Well, supper was over and I was enjoying an extra minute or two of relaxing (family rule: the person who makes the meal doesn't have to clean up the meal, the people who don't help with the preparation of the meal have to clean up, hence my moment to sit) and wasn't ready to go downstairs to turn on the movie. Eden was getting just a bit impatient so unbeknownst to her, Jesse headed downstairs to secretly start the movie. Andrew soon followed to tell Jesse to hide from sight when the deed was done. After waiting long enough for the movie to start and for the boys to hide, I told the girls to stand at the top of the steps and say, "Abracadabra, movie start." At the same time, the boys, hiding in another room of the basement, heard the movie's theme song and realized that they had started the wrong movie.

Too late. The girls were already on their way downstairs and what was supposed to sound like little girls praising and thanking their brothers sounded more like a meltdown. It was a meltdown. The boys wisely waited until the crying stopped before appearing from behind locked doors. Maybe next time they will apply that all-important principle - check your work.