I HAVE MET THE TODDLERS, AND I AM THEIRS

When I arrived at Toddler Squad Headquarters across the lake the twins seemed not to remember me, although at the time one of them was fully occupied with yelling into the electric fan, as the other handled the task of walking in diminishing circles while holding a furry blue doggie up in the air with one hand; some things just have to be done right now. Kaya very impressively showed us how she could write all our names, and no longer pinches her upstart little sisters much.

Kaya of course is my little buddy, but the last time the twins laid eyes on me was a quarter of their lives ago. Who is this big guy in shades and what is he doing in our headquarters, they ask out of the corners of their eyes, the expert little actors. But they let slip that they remember me, especially when tickled or subjected to one of my many other sudden tricks, but then they soon pretend to forget again (anyway, each twins' world is in one way or another occupied largely by the other twin), so finally we went off to the park where they could fight over the swings. Kaya has no great need to be empress of the world anymore, and is mostly a kind big sister now, pushing one swinging twin while I push the other. She only becomes imperial out of necessity, as when one or the other of the twins, after a reasonable ride, refuses to give up the swing she's on when Kaya wants it, essence of the conflict that lies at the heart of all imperial relations.

Yesterday being a day of actual sunshine, we mobbed to our favorite beach and had a picnic, making only the one mistake of bringing but two ring floats, a yellow one with two leg holes inside for little kids and a conventional pink one open in the center; Kaya immediately grabbed the 'adult' one; Mitsuki grabbed the other, put it on and wouldn't take it off for the rest of the day, knowing what would happen if she did, as Miasa followed her closely and with great dedication, like a toy vulture. Mitsuki wore the tube like a dress all afternoon; sat down in it, ate in it, ran in it, dug in the sand in it and on occasion swam in it, until she finally surrendered it upon getting in the car to return home. Quite impressive, the ruthlessness of toddlerhood.