It was only a couple of weeks ago that I was introduced to the cartoon Bluey. I wasn’t avoiding it, but I wasn’t seeking it out either. I had seen the toys on the shelves, sure. But, I thought they were wolves or something. Now, before you get all upset and say things like, “But they’re blue!” Yeah? And? It’s a cartoon. The animals are walking around on their hind legs and living in a house and you’re upset that I thought they might be blue wolves? Really? Really?
Hypothetical argument. Let’s move on, together. Okay? Okay.
My youngest and I have spent time watching cartoons together. With streaming services, I will introduce my childhood shows and she will introduce modern ones that I might not otherwise try. So far, we’re both doing a pretty good job of sharing and not scaring. Apologies. I’m off-topic. Wait… Am I? No. Wow. I just confused myself. In my own head.
Note to self: Do not switch web pages when writing.
Anywho… So, my daughter and I are watching the first episode of Bluey and I saw the word ‘Australian’ in the opening credits and it clicked: Blue Heeler!
My buddy Erich’s dad had one. I still remember Erich showing up at my house with this little dog. How awesome it looked. How well-behaved it was. How smart it was. He was a cool dog. It was the first time I had ever heard of the Australian sheepdog breed. It would be years later that I would learn about Red Heelers. So, when I saw ‘Australian’ in the credits of Bluey, and saw the flecks of grey/white hair in the dad’s blue about his head, I shouted out, “They’re Heelers!” and then proceeded to explain to my child what I was excitedly yelling about.
So far we are only in the credits and I am hooked. Then, the characters are interacting in positive creative play. The same kind of thing I did with my children. Now, as I’m processing this new element, Bingo (the youngest) pulls out a xylophone that is ‘magical’ and ‘freezes’ her dad. They have established rules in their creative play?!?! Mind blown. We had the same thing, my children and I. I was now reeled in. They had me. I’m a fan of Bluey. I love it.
As the episode (and subsequent episodes) played on, I kept thinking about the games I played with my children. The ones that were always done. I’ll bet anyone reading this that has—or had—children, have some of those games. If you don’t shame on you. That’s right. Shame on you for not providing creative and interactive play with your children (I know, that reads very judgmental and rude, it was meant to be playful, so please, take it that way). Children need that creative play. They need that interactivity with a role model. They need your time with them. They need that play.
The first one that became an established game, for us, was the Tumble Drys.
Tumble Drys happened after the children were bathed. At the point that they were old enough to get gently roughhoused with, I Tumble Dried them. This process was simple. My wife would remove them from the tub, wrap them up in a towel, hand them to me, and I would vigorously rub my hands and arms all over them while holding them close to my chest, and making vibrating machine sounds. Occasionally, a tickle under the armpit might occur—the technology was new and not perfected. Oh, how they would giggle! There we were—as parents—trying to end the day calmingly and quietly to get the children ready to sleep and the Tumble Dryer was just revving them up with accidental tickle power. Oh well. Maybe the bedtime songs would help?
Regardless, they loved it. Still, as a bonus, the Tumble Dryer could also be a multicycle dryer. Sometimes the toddler would be held, cradled in my arms (after the first cycle) as I rocked them about and spun in a circle. This was the agitator. Again, due to recent technological developments, the occasional tickling might also occur. Okay, it happened all the time. Every time. It was part of each cycle.
The final stage was the Spin Cycle. I would lay the child prostrate on the ground (with them still wrapped in their towel), grab one end and pull. They would unroll almost all the way (can’t have a clean naked child rolling along on the carpet now can we? also, modesty), then I would manually reroll them back into their towel and repeat as needed—about four or five times. I would stop when their eyes were freely rolling about in two different directions. It was always a good time.
With additional children, the Tumble Dry cycles might get cut a little short as shivering children awaited their turn. Fair is fair. Still, it was a fun end-of-day event.
As each episode of Bluey has been watched, more and more of the games I played with my young children come to the forefront of my memory—and my children’s.
The other big game was the Tucklings. This was a unique game that was invented in our current home. By accident.
When my little family of six moved into our first (and current) home the children got split up. My oldest went downstairs into her own room. The two boys went into the biggest bedroom in the house, also downstairs, and next to their sister’s. The youngest stayed upstairs. She was young enough that she still might need mom or dad to shoo away monsters or help with things (we’re good at that). The other three were old enough to help each other out and didn’t need mom or dad at night as much as they used to. It all worked out.
For a while, the bedtime songs were still sung. The “I love you”’s were shared. The normal bedtime routines were still in place. But then, as often things do, one by one, many of those nighttime rituals drifted away. As with any ritual that vanishes, there were reasons that cannot be exactly recalled. Maybe it had been a long day and it was very late: drop one event. That night was not convenient—for whatever reason: drop an event. So-and-so isn’t home: drop and event. You know how it can go. Fortunately, we always had family prayers, hugs, and “I love you”’s.
Studies show that to aid in one’s personal positive mental and emotional growth you need a certain amount of sincere hugs in a day. Last we checked, ten was the number. With a family prayer in the morning and one at night, and six people hugging on a one-on-one basis, we were guaranteed to get at least ten a day. And, we would say “I love you” to each other as often as possible (to reinforce how much we really did care). Good stuff.
What I’m getting at is this: My wife felt that with the move, and the children all spread out amongst the house, our youngest missed out on some of the bedtime activities that her older siblings were able to enjoy when they were her age. The result was that we tried to ensure she got something else. Thus the Tucklings: A combination of tucking into bed with a little tickle.
It started as something simple. One night I went into her room to tuck her into bed, and I accidentally-on-purpose tickled her—a little. Her childish giggle was delightful (much like her siblings). So, it happened again and again, night after night. Aurora would wait for dad (me) to come and Tuckle her into bed. If I accidentally forgot, or she thought I forgot, I would hear (from down the hall, because that was where her room was relative to mine), “Da-A-ad.” That’s all it took. I was right there.
This was also a time of great humor on her part. Some of which have elevated into repeated family lore. Here is a sampling of some of those better moments:
As I walked into the room Aurora—who was facing away from me at the moment—rolls over, looks me right in the eye, deadpan expression, and says, “So, we meet again…”
Another time, after the Tuckling, my daughter looks up at me to answer my query about how her day went and quietly says as she wriggled her toes—under the covers—in a challenge, “I bet you can’t find my toes.” Followed by, “I lost twelve today.”
My response, “What?”
Her, “Don’t worry. They weren’t mine.”
Night after night she would have these amazing, quick-witted comedy gold moments. Do you have any idea how hard it is to not bust a gut laughing when you are trying to get your child to settle down and sleep? Do you? I almost died. Several times!
If you do, please feel free to share those moments in the comments. Thanks!
Yeah, Tumble Drys & Tucklings. These are two of the best childhood memories. (not my memories, my children’s. just making that clear)
Almost Heroes 