When I was a teenager, one of my hobbies was performing magic. It was a skill that was useful during the early years of fatherhood, and again when the grandchildren started to arrive. It’s a way of really getting involved with them without needing a great deal of spoken communication.
Most of the magic that I like to do now involves sitting in my chair, just being ‘Poppa’ as they call me, and having magic things just happen around me. It’s a great way of making contact with the grandchildren, though I sometimes feel as if I let them down when they bring me very large objects and plead ‘Make this horse disappear, Poppa’ handing me a 3 foot long hobby horse.
But some of you will know those moments when you lose the conversation, and you are looking for a way back in. A well timed wand floating up from the table into my hand, just when one of the grandchildren is looking my way, can do the trick nicely.
The highlight of my new career was performing at an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed party for a seven year old granddaughter. I produced this granddaughter from a seemingly empty dolls house while relating the story of Alice and the ‘Drink me’ bottle.
Does it work for the grandchildren? One of them, as a 9th birthday treat, wants me to take her to the magic shop where I get my supplies. I’m hoping the shop will lay on a magical experience for her!
But a 4 year old granddaughter whispered to her mother as they were leaving us after a visit ‘I want to be a magician when I grow up!’
Now THAT’s magic!