Sparks

Last night Obe got into bed with me and as he was laying next to me his fur was giving off little sparks as I was petting him and as he was rolling on a blanket. I'm fascinated by this phenomenon, it's as if one can create a mini lightening storm in one's home.

Remember how you would scuff your feet on the carpeting and go up to a sibling and shock the heck out of them? Now with the penchant for hardwood floors, have we taken away this method of sibling torture away?

But I digress from what I want to blog about today.


The sparks that I saw last night reminded me of when I was a kid. My sisters/cousins would sequester ourselves in a dark closet with a roll of Lifesavers. Can't remember if they were Pep-o-Mint or Wint-o-Green (don't you just love the names?). Once our eyes would adjust to the darkness one of us would pop a Lifesaver in our mouth and chew it hard with our mouth open. The result? There would be little sparks flying out of their mouth as they chewed. We'd all take turns chewing and watching. We thought it was the coolest thing EVER! I'm not sure who even taught us the trick, it was a fun way to bond and laugh.

If you've never done this, try it for yourself. Pull your kids, nieces, nephews, young cousins, even (gasp) a grandchild away from their Wii, cell phone, TV, computer and show them this simple pleasure. Maybe they'll like it, maybe they will think you are crazy. What's the worst thing that will happen? You'll all walk out of the dark closet with fresh breath!

So at some point today, or in the upcoming week, create some sparks, ignite imagination and perpetuate this tradition with your family.

Spark on.