Was it Magic or Just Good Old Fashioned Fun?

If it was raining when you were a kid, what would you have done? Well, if you had several brothers and sisters like me, there rarely was a problem coming up with some indoor activity. We'd either drag out the board games or a deck of cards, convince Mom to make cookies, play dress-up, watch TV, or on this particular occasion, we decided to have a magic show.

My mother had this old sewing cabinet that made the perfect prop for our production because it had a back door and a top that came apart. Consequently, you could climb in and out of this piece of furniture both through the back and through the top. However, in order to disguise the activity through each of these portholes, we hung a curtain alongside the cabinet to block this. Of course, this provided hours of fun filled distraction. But what would be the purpose of all this, if the show hadn't gone on?

So, after practicing all afternoon, my parents and the older siblings were enlisted to make up the audience. Likely, the production would have lasted just a short time, but the fun we had in preparing for it, provided hours of playful distraction and creativity. Doesn't this all sound familiar?

On occasion I find myself asking, "Why would this innocent afternoon of indoor fun remain imprinted on my mind?". I am really not sure that I have the answer to that one, but what I do know, however, is this. The show, complete with our trap door and false top cabinet, the shenanigans, and all the antics, I am guessing "nearly" brought down the house!