"The Gaga Pit"

 The karate school that the boys go to is next door to a used car dealership.  The parking lot can be pretty hairy, especially in the winter.  So the school has a little space blocked off with boards shaped into an octogon.  The boys tell me that this is called the Gaga Pit, where they play lots of ball games like Snake in the Garden and  (what else) Gaga.  (Will explained the rules of Gaga to me once and I got lost.)

Poor Seanie.  He's a tough dude, but even tough dudes get hurt sometimes.  He's tripped over this Gaga Pit a couple of times and beat the heck outta those knees.  It's me that picks them up most nights and if Sean comes over with a huge band-aid on his knee and a grin, I always say "Uh-oh....did the Gaga Pit strike again?"  "yeah."  "Well....gotta be careful buddy, use the GATE on one side instead of trying to jump over."  The third and (hopefully) last time he also scratched his arm and got a couple of dings on his chin.  "Mom, I didn't cry the first two times but today I cried."

Will told me that another kid came over to him that last time and said "Your brother tripped over the gaga pit!"  Will's response:  "Typical Sean."  "But Will, he's bleeding!"  "Yeah....that's kind of typical too....I'm coming over now."

So now we have a new phrase in our house:  "Beware the Gaga Pit!" I plan on using it for years to come.  On the way to midterms in high school...."Beware the Gaga Pit!"  Dropping Sean off at college "Beware the Gaga Pit!"  Getting married and having kids....watch out for that Gaga Pit, Sean!