Games Kids Play

I missed this hilarious bit, the other day, when I was scanning Lileks. It's about his daughter, nicknamed Gnat.

My wife is gone for four days on a business trip, and it’s just me and the kid until Wednesday night. Fine by me. Staying at home all day is pretty much my ideal day anyway. But it began at when Gnat crawled into my bed clutching her new Barbie as Erica Doll.

“Wake up , Daddee.”

I checked the clock. Eight. Not bad. Unfortunately, I had gone to bed at 3 AM. After several years away from my old shameful habit, I have become hooked on Hawaii Five-O again. And we’re talking the recent episodes that have that Al Harrington guy. This meant I was two hours shy of the amount of sleep I’d need to make it through the day. But she fell asleep, waking periodically to ask me to get up. “Five minutes,” I said. I got an hour more out of that one. Eventually I woke to hear her composing a little play with two Barbies.

“Erika’s dead,” she said.

“That’s too bad. Are you sure?”

Pause.

“She’s only dead in the dark.”

That was the creepiest thing I’d ever heard her say. OhKAY, let’s get up.