And then the bubble burst

Ever since the time we had a family reunion and I blew bubbles for my niece Aish, who scampered around in delight trying to catch and burst them, I've dreamt of the day when my kid would do the same. Xena is, of course, too young to scamper around and burst bubbles, but I have bought a bottle of the bubble solution anyway. Yesterday, she wasn't feeling too well, so I thought I'd take her downstairs in her stroller and cheer her up by blowing bubbles around her. So I blew the bubbles and she gave me a bored look and I blew more bubbles and erm, she got even more bored. Just as I was about to give up and come back, two toddler twins ran towards me yelling, "Oh look, bubbles!" They came up to me and scampered around, bursting the bubbles. Then Twin 1 asked me very politely, "Can I blow the bubbles?" "Sure, but you must wash your hands afterwards ok?" I said. She nodded and I gave her the bottle and the cap with the loop. She blew bubbles for a while, and Twin 2 ran around chasing and bursting them. Then Twin 2 took the bottle and blew the bubbles, while Twin 1 chased and burst them. This went on for a while, and I had a real blast watching them. Then I turned to Xena and said, "You see this, Xena? When you're a little older, you can also run around chasing and bursting the bubbles!" She simply rolled her eyes and looked away.

Twin 1 was now trying to blow bigger bubbles and was finding it hard to concentrate on holding the bottle and the cap, so she asked me to hold the bottle for her. I did, but I had to constantly bend down when she wanted to dip the loop in the solution, and she did not like this 'delay'. So she asked Twin 2 to hold the bottle so it would be at a height more suitable for her.  I just followed instructions. Apparently that is all that is required of grown-ups in a scenario like this.

Suddenly Twin 2 held up her hand and halted play. "But wait," she said. "If I'll hold the bottle and you'll blow the bubbles, who's going to run after them and burst them?"

Then they both slowly turned and looked up at me. Meaningfully.

Xena had suddenly discovered newfound interest in the proceedings. She sat up in her stroller with a "Bring on the popcorn!" expression on her face.