Shadow Dancing

On a late summer night in '05, Zack discovered the fun of shadows.

Shadow Dance:

It began with Deb and I sitting in our white, fake wicker chair by the drive way. We have one of those security lights that illuminates when it senses motion. It a fairly powerful light, complete illuminating the drive way.

Zack was pushing his play police car around the drive way when I discovered the security light made for excellent shadows. Not the multiple shadows you normally get but one, strong black shadow usually reserved for dark rooms and flash lights.

I made the age old rabbit shadow. Zack was fascinated by the construct. He tried to grab it but the wascally wabbit was too quick. He laughed and giggled until he discovered he had a shadow as well. At this point the fascination began.

I felt like I was watching something out of Peter Pan as my son tried to catch the his own dark image which was always just a little too fast for him. After chasing the shadow down the drive way, he found that the shadow would also chase him as well. Zack ran away from the dark boy on the ground watching the shadow as he ran. He was so intent was he on the dark image that he ran head long into Jessica’s car falling to the ground the ground in a heap of giggles.

Deb and I showed Zack how to control the shadow with his own movements. He waved his arms and laughed. Then he raised his foot into the air watching the shadow detach from his form. He tried to touch the shadow but it was always just out of reach. Finally he learned to squat down. The shadow squatted as well and at last he could touch the illusive being.

Zack was having so much fun it was hard to get him in for the night. Finally I was able to coax him into my arms to look at the stars. Zack likes stars so I sang him a song as we walked back toward the house. The rhythm was to a Louis Armstrong song “What a wonderful world” but the words were my own. Zack enjoyed it and didn’t fuss at all as we walked into the house. Once inside, Deb had to call her mom to describe the evening. Zack and I played ‘Tent on the couch’ where his folding tent goes on one section of the couch and he climbs in and out. We sang twinkle, twinkle little star for a while until Deb got off the phone with her mom.

Its nights like this when everything seems right with the world. I wish there were more of them.