Wordzzle Saturday 66

This Week's Ten Word Challenge was: swashbuckler, heads-up, dry martini, recovery, jungle gym, whiskers, bathing suit, spade, circular reasoning, abrasive

I had decided I didn't want the whiskers to belong to a cat, and didn't want any one-eyed sword-fighting pirates or anyone drinking the dry martini. ;) For the Wordzzle guidelines, and the words for next Saturday (if you wanted to try it yourself) go on over to Raven's blog. Thanks for hosting this Raven, it's been fun!



My fifteen year old son, Scott, came backing around the corner into the living room from the kitchen, brandishing a butter knife like a swashbuckler, and wearing nothing but his bathing suit. Rowf, our golden retriever, pranced right behind him, with his favorite throwing stick (the wooden handle from an old backpacking spade) in his mouth. I watched quietly from my recliner, realizing neither of the two knew I was observing their silliness.

I also knew that if I didn't stop the horseplay, something would probably end up broken, but in a weird kind of circular reasoning I was too glad to see his goofiness to want to put a stop to it. These last two years, my son's behavior had changed from a happy-go-lucky kid into an abrasive, mouthy teen. Having a conversation with him was like playing tag on a twisted jungle gym. If I were climbing up, then he'd be maneuvering away from me down the other side.

Now, with a 15 year old's bravado, he was dancing with his reflection in the sliding glass door, holding an empty cocktail glass from the bar in his hand. He tilted his head and admiringly stroked the four whiskers that had recently sprouted from his chin. I figured I'd better give him a heads-up before he did anything to embarrass himself further.

"Scott," I said quietly, getting up from my chair, "What are you doing?"
He jumped, spun around, and dropped the cocktail glass, narrowly missing the dog, but making a quick recovery.
"Nothing, Mom, I promise, there was nothing in it!"
"Why were you holding an empty martini glass?"
"Um... because it was a dry martini?
I laughed and gave him a quick hug while he was caught off-guard. Wonders never cease, he hugged me back.