How Long Will I Be Able To Beat All My Kids ?

I'm betting this blog post will catch more readers than usual, if only because the title seems to suggest I am a horrible human being and even worse father.  It will be interesting to see how many comments I get when I post it to Facebook ... hopefully people will read on before misjudging.  :)

"Let's wrestle daddy!" is a phrase that often rings out in The Case Place.  It is at that moment that I must duck and cover.  My cell phone and wallet are frantically placed in a nearby safe location and I prepare for the attack.  In an instant between 3 and 6 kids are upon me with a singular goal: to pin "daddy" on his back.  That is the only way they "win" this game.  The truth is that they always eventually win, but often it will take a long time and requires a true team effort.
I am not easily pinned!

I do not remember when these battles started, but I am sure they began as "Let's push daddy out of bed" wars and evolved into more "wrestling" matches.

Over the years, as the kids have enlisted more recruits (a.k.a. more siblings), the challenge of not getting pinned has become quite a difficult task.  Time has aided this rowdy bunch of Case Kids, with the oldest boys getting stronger each year, and the little girls learning where daddy is ticklish.  The last time we wrestled, it took all my strength and cunning to avoid being pinned.  Even then, I was so exhausted that I gave in within only about 20 minutes (fastest time ever for these kiddos).

I realize now that I am soon going to begin losing these battles without much effort or teamwork on the part of my opponents.  The only question that remains is this: how soon will it happen?  I can't wait to find out.  :)

Song Of The Day:
I don't really know why but the song "Seize The Day" from the musical Newsies comes to mind when I think about wrestling with my kids.  I think it is because that is the story of children working together to outsmart adults ... that and, I really dig the tune!

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