The Epic Battle

I grew up playing outside from morning til night. Even playing in the rain was fun because our street was severely lacking in storm drains, so when it rained the least bit, we had a river from curb to curb. Wading in it was fun. And it was also a treat to watch my brother dress up in matching cammo rain poncho's and introduce my oldest daughter to floating home made gutter boats.

We didn't need fancy toys. The world opened with only a bike, a few baseball cards, and some clothes pins. Nothing was so cool as to cruise up and down the street on your bike when it was outfitted with the cards clacking against the spokes as the wheels turned. I'm pretty sure mine always sounded like a Harley. I guess I've always been a biker babe at heart.

The thing that was always in abundant supply with which to play was water. It was before the days of "save mother earth", and "if it's yellow let it mellow". Water was cheap and easily available, so water fights with the hose were a regular occurrence. It wasn't unusual to surprise whomever might be doing the dishes in the kitchen with a good spray through the screen. And since the spray nozzle on the kitchen sink hadn't been invented, it was kind of hard to retaliate. 

The fun in our house didn't stop when we grew into adulthood. In fact, it became even more creative when we brought our own kids home for a visit. My children will never forget watching Bunns trap me in the corner of mom and dad's kitchen to drool on me. I was in my 30's, and I've never laughed so hard. Not only at my little brothers creative retaliation, but at the looks on my children's faces. I think that's when they started to 'get' what fun with the uncles REALLY was. 

It was during such a visit, with both brothers and their families, that one of the most memorable water battles EVER occurred. I don't remember who started it; though I'm sure it was one of the brothers. Someone (probably Ming)  broke out a big bag of water balloons, and got it started in the front yard. It didn't take long for our children to join in, but they were small enough that they all attached themselves to an adult for safety. The sight of my niece tucked in behind Bunns, and peeking around the corner of the house to see if anyone was standing there with a bucket waiting to soak them was priceless. 

We got tired of chasing each other from the front to the back yard, so started launching the balloons over the house. The sky rained water bombs and it was absolutely awesome! By then the neighbors from up and down the block had heard the laughing and commotion, so brought their lawn chairs and lined the sidewalk across the street to watch. 

The battle went on for quite some time, and eventually we ran out of balloons. But the next door neighbor, Jerry, who was a fireman, came to the rescue. He had a stash of surgical gloves in his garage and broke them out to take the place of  balloons. There is nothing better than watching a glove spin and tumble through the air as the fingers fill with water and the fingertips stretch out and bulge. They hold an amazing amount and make an impressive splat when they reach their intended target.

But not all the projectiles made it over the house. Some stopped short on the peek of the roof, and for a couple of years, the detritus of rubber baked in the sun. Dad never really loved us climbing around on the roof because it was kind of hard on it. At least, that was the excuse we used for not cleaning up after ourselves.  So we just left it up there as a reminder of a great day. I love my family.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;

Worship the Lord in holy array.

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;

The God of glory thunders,

The voice of the Lord is over many waters.

The voice of the Lord is powerful,

The voice of the Lord is majestic.

Ps. 29:2-4

Before rubber covered the roof

Wheelbarrow rides - another kind of "fun with the uncles"