touch

last night i sat cross-legged on the floor of the kids' room and played green alligators. the things i noticed most were the way my children visualize and translate the world; how they define it.

the object of the game is rather basic. you have three cards, each one has a picture of something (a birthday cake, a seashell, a computer) and then there are the "action" cards which are green alligators doing things (ballet dancing, golf, ice skating). you have to give clues to what the pictures are in order for the other players to try and guess.

a simple game, but the enjoyable part, at least to me, is seeing the creative mind work and the way expression plays such a part in the way we communicate.

i suppose it is what is sorely lacking in email, or blogs, as a main source of communication - there is so much of the human experience that goes missing. the spark in someone's eyes, the way they gesture with their hands, the quirky looks we all have that make up part of who we are, the gentle touch of a hand.

i know i'm a very physical person, i am free with hugs and arms wrapped around, i like to show my affection and emotion with touch. and sometimes, the lack of it when so many of those people i consider friends are miles away, makes me feel lonely, and often misunderstood.

i like knowing how someone's laugh sounds, how they look right before they smile, and how their voice changes when they are being genuine, or snarky, or flat out silly. and last night i got a pretty good dose of that in my children. i got to sit there and take in the way their individual voices layer over each other, how a laugh is contagious, and how unique each one of their looks and tells are when they are trying to say something, or trying to hide a detail.

just got me thinking.