Caged animal, Charlie.
Schuyler and the gang (Destiny and Zarah).
There's this place called Kid Zone. It's kind of the only (for the moment anyway) indoor playground in Bermuda. Winter and rainstorms make it very popular. It is also popular for birthday parties. The room is not immense and the playground - a series of slides, tunnels, and stairways - consumes most of the room such that the parents form kind of a parental moat of people on two of the sides with exactly three seats. There is also a ball pit in there loaded with plastic balls which some genius decided to put in the far corner so if any kid runs into difficulty in the pit, the adult minder has to crawl through miles of kid sized tunnels to get there. It is a concrete room that reflects all sounds sharply and magnifies the cacophony which grows to torturous levels as the party reaches its peak. But the kids love it. And, since there is nowhere for the kids to go but in this labyrinth, the parents ultimately dig it as well. At this one, Schuyler was the core invitee. Charlie wasn't technically invited but I kind of brought him along anyway because it was easier and I thought he would like it. He did. He played and played but really just in one little spot in front of me and wasn't keen on playing with the other kids (who were a older mostly) or venturing too far into the maze. I had to bribe him with chocolate to get the above pic. Schuyler on the other hand was psyched. She was in her element. She's now in the top tier (P1) of her class in the bizarre but strictly observed caste system at her school and her three best friends (Emma, Destiny, and Zarah) were in attendance. Above is actually a break in these three demonstrating their dance routine they have developed in an early form of a musical group the girls would eventually call "The Cupcakes". For my part, I get to hang out with the other parents (mostly Mum's) and try to have a full adult conversation despite the wall of white noise cutting through every syllable and the constant interruptions with boo boos and I-need-to-pee's. It's basically like meeting strangers in a brightly lit nightclub except you are sober and have two lives to preserve.
There's this place called Kid Zone. It's kind of the only (for the moment anyway) indoor playground in Bermuda. Winter and rainstorms make it very popular. It is also popular for birthday parties. The room is not immense and the playground - a series of slides, tunnels, and stairways - consumes most of the room such that the parents form kind of a parental moat of people on two of the sides with exactly three seats. There is also a ball pit in there loaded with plastic balls which some genius decided to put in the far corner so if any kid runs into difficulty in the pit, the adult minder has to crawl through miles of kid sized tunnels to get there. It is a concrete room that reflects all sounds sharply and magnifies the cacophony which grows to torturous levels as the party reaches its peak. But the kids love it. And, since there is nowhere for the kids to go but in this labyrinth, the parents ultimately dig it as well. At this one, Schuyler was the core invitee. Charlie wasn't technically invited but I kind of brought him along anyway because it was easier and I thought he would like it. He did. He played and played but really just in one little spot in front of me and wasn't keen on playing with the other kids (who were a older mostly) or venturing too far into the maze. I had to bribe him with chocolate to get the above pic. Schuyler on the other hand was psyched. She was in her element. She's now in the top tier (P1) of her class in the bizarre but strictly observed caste system at her school and her three best friends (Emma, Destiny, and Zarah) were in attendance. Above is actually a break in these three demonstrating their dance routine they have developed in an early form of a musical group the girls would eventually call "The Cupcakes". For my part, I get to hang out with the other parents (mostly Mum's) and try to have a full adult conversation despite the wall of white noise cutting through every syllable and the constant interruptions with boo boos and I-need-to-pee's. It's basically like meeting strangers in a brightly lit nightclub except you are sober and have two lives to preserve.
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