Today was the day of my enlightenment. The boys discovered yoyo’s. Seems oldest (seven) got one at school last year. He wanted to upgrade but mom said too much money. Little brother (4) has to do whatever big brother does. It turns out my husband had a stash of yoyo’s in the office. He had some cheap ones, and a MILLENIUM ADDITION Y-2K special. So it began. Oldest practiced on the cheap one while his little brother spent his whole time rolling his up. Then my husband demonstrated: walk the dog, rock the cradle, around the world, etc.. With eyes wide the oldest took the special edition in his hand and spent the next two hours walking around the house practicing. He can now walk the dog and do some minor tricks. My husband wouldn’t concede ownership of his special edition, which meant a trip to the mall.

Never in my life did I realize there were so many different kinds of yo yo’s. They came in different shapes, colors, with or without ball bearings, with or without noises, lights flashing, designer labels. They cost $8 – $45 . They were sleepers, they were automatic returners, they were tricksters. I had no idea what to buy, but the guy in the store loved my kind of customer. He spun, danced, walked, threw those yo yo’s all over the store. They whistled and flashed and we all stood wide eyed in awe and admiration. We went home with three, one for me, and one for each boy. I feel enlightened. My finger is now permanently indented with a string mark. The boys have already learned to use band aids.

In the course of all this I had to Google yoyo, and learned that the ancient Greeks had them in 2500 BC and that the kind we use now probably came from the Philippines. You can check it out yourself, but things haven’t really changed that much. A yo yo is a yo yo, right? Wrong! It is an eternal phenomenon that keeps kids quiet for HOURS! Go yo yo!

Sunshine