What I Did Today
a List by Wendy, Mistress of The Beasts
—Engaged in spirited discussion re: merits of Spider-Man vs Batman with 7 year old and 11 year old boys.
—Tried to avoid being hit on head with homemade “weapons”[made of foam rubber and duct tape]
—Requested sword and axe fighting take place in separate room from me until finish gallon of Starbucks
—Spent two hours with 5 kids from 7-14 discussing which superpowers were the most powerful, deciding on which ones we all possessed, the specialties and limitations, and everyone’s kryptonite, and why Aqua Man just sucks and is completely lame and whether or not Iron Man has a good costume, degenerating, again, into acerbic debate about Spider-Man being the best possible superhero, which was only headed off by children deciding to invent MY superhero persona.
Name: Mistress of the Beasts
Super power: being able to communicate with animals; also uncanny ability to understand boys between 11-15 perfectly
Costume: Can’t remember color but had awesome boots and very long cape and clawed gauntlets which were my primary request
Kryptonite: people who don’t like kids or animals and also school
Backstory: unfortunate zoo accident as young child. Possibility of being raised by wolves explored and abandoned as vegetarian diet impossible in such conditions
Afternoon activities:
Costume workshop for tomorrow’s LARPing event during which helped to produce:
–fake fur tunic
–pleather body armor
–full length satin cape
–pleather sandals (12year old’s original pattern and design)
–black jacket with detailed flower appliqué (designed and created by its wearer; I only helped tack flower down so could be completely sewn on by 11 year old boy genius)
–two sets fingerless gloves
–did not help with but marveled at pheasant feathers cured on skin by 13 year old. Amazing.
–Various belts and pouches to hang on them, along with holders for “weapons”
Other activities:
–Watching children learn and perform zombie dance
–Asking children to scream in their normal voices, not the high pitched one that makes the blood vessels in my neck pop out
(Request consistently ignored)
–Laughing almost continually
–Already looking forward to tomorrow as I drive home
–Comparing today’s child-centered fun to that of a year ago, and missing those particular children even more than I already do, every day.
parenting guide for grown-ups 