Odds are...

So the girls and I met Jose and Yolanda for a drink this evening, as we usually do on Saturdays. The girls were, as always, bopping in and out and around our immediate table area, but mostly in. They were playing one of their favorite games, where one of them hides something in one hand, and an adult has to guess which hand. Often it's not terribly challenging because a six (or three) year old's hand is not that big, and a twist-off bottle cap is a little too bulky to hide. The big dilemma is how often to "win" and how often to "lose."

But today Robin was playing with a tiny little thing. The juice they get has a twist top, and the lower edge splits apart along perforated lines when you unscrew it. The kids like to bend these little bits out like flower petals, and eventually pull them off.

So today they were playing "guess which hand" with this little metal shard, about half an inch by an eighth or so. (One could debate the appropriateness of such a plaything, but really we're not here to discuss my mothering skills.) The point is, it is easily hidden in a hand of any size.

Robin was playing with Jose and Julia. I was talking to Yolanda, until Jose indicated we should start paying attention. They kept playing for a bit, then switched from Jose to Yolanda.

Robin turns her back and hides the thing in one of her hands. Julia is really not that interested. She's looking around the room, carrying on an entirely different conversation (with me, us, herself, maybe the potted plant...) When Robin turns back, Julia lunges for one of her hands. Once in a while she stops and switches.

We probably watched 20 or 30 rounds of the game. Julia may have been wrong three times.