Kids nowadays seem to gravitate to electronics. Maybe Edith Anne, my youngest, would have enjoyed video games…if her dainty little squirrel monkey fingers could have exerted enough pressure to click on the screen. (Don’t get me wrong. If Edie wanted something badly enough, those little fingers could hold on with a vengeance! But game screens? Not so much.)
My first child Kong entertained himself by climbing up and down his leash…usually to tease other critters. He’d jump from my shoulder to my arm, then climb down the leash to see what mischief he could reach. (For example, I recall that my friend Nancy had a little cross-eyed kitten, so Kong would shinny down the leash, taunt the kitten, and scramble back up when the kitten would make a lunge at him.)
My human child liked anything involving a ball or wheels…plus the occasional board game. An outdoor type of kid, he enjoyed climbing the tall oaks in our yard. The lowest branches were two stories up, so he’d build little makeshift ladders with wood slats nailed to the trunks. I’d go out the front door to call him and hear a voice from above. There he’d be, high above, on the bottom branch. So…in my social worker self (with a warped sense of humor) would yell up to him, “If you really want your leg broken, I’ll break it for you to save you the trouble of falling out of that tree!” (Needless to say, I didn’t say such things in the course of my employment.) Later on, this was the kid who raced motorcyles, eventually going pro on the Grand National Dirt Track circuit.
Kid number 3, Mo (another furry one) was never really into fun and games. He was older when he came to us and was rather like a lifelong brooding teenager. He did put considerable effort into his Houdini act (escaping from just about anything from his belt to his cage), and he did get a kick out of pestering and intimidating the pets in the house (Schultzie, Chickie, and Gimpy. PomPom could not be pestered or intimidated.)
Edith’s version of fun involved physical activity. In her early years, she really got into a good game of “romp’n’chomp”. She would get into someone’s hand, hold on with all fours, and let us bounce her around on the bed while she scolded and pretended to bite us. (REALLY glad about the pretend biting. I think I’ve mentioned the straight-pin-like teeth.) Great entertainment for a monkey child. “Tree” was another favorite (maybe she was more like her brother than I thought). Since she was not allowed to climb the massive oaks, she would bounce around in lower bushes (often in a quest for an edible snack critter). When indoors, “tree” was us. We would hold our arms up, and she’d jump from arm to arm, swinging her way along to the treetop (arms extended straight up) where she’d bask in being higher than anyone around. Then, arms lowering, back down the “tree” only to start all over again as the arms would get higher. Leap, leap, gloat, repeat! Fun and games for the younger years. As she got older and more settled, her duties as a monkey mom to her jingle bell babies, consumed more and more of her time. Romp’n’chop fell by the wayside, but tree was forever!
I really, really miss Edith Anne! It was a great 28 years with her!