Manplay

Ok, so it's my job to take care of the kids. But I suspect I'm not the only one who's noticed that once the kids reach a certain age (and it's not that old), dads get a lot more engrossed in kid activities than moms. To wit:

Legos and other construction-type activities
Army guy wars
Building forts out of furniture fragments
Any number of outdoor sports

Some of these things I can fake. For others, I can only supply the accouterments and wish them well. But Dad can have a downright good time chucking pillows across a room for an afternoon. I was recently reprimanded by the children for not trading my Memory matches after a game, an activity apparently devised by their uncles to increase and extend the competition. The tiger is worth at least two less cool card matches, and if you want the strawberry shortcake you'd better be willing to part with your whole stack. ?!

I suppose I should just be grateful for Manplay when it happens, and appreciate the time it buys me for trying to figure out where the pantry got to.