Nerf War Morality Moments Conflict Resolution Gaps

Nerf War as path to Presbyterian salvation?

RantWoman THINKS she has survived the latest family spell of "Oh Quaker Auntie, Irrepressible Nephew is up to his eyeballs in weaponry but would you please teach him about peace?"


RantWoman THINKS she has survived, but does not recommend anyone push their luck. Asi es mi testimonio.

To review:
Some previous incidents summarized here:

http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2011/12/blow-guns-on-timeout.html

--A couple Christmases ago, an interest in forging weaponry on the kitchen flooor: Nephew somehow immediately lost interest in the idea upon Auntie suggesting that tin foil and cardboard might add up to a truly awesome and theatrical arsenal.

--A little over a year ago, the birthday blowgun presents got put on time out for all of Christmas vacation because of something that happened at school the day before vacation. RantWoman offered heartfelt prayers about the incident at school, but, oh rats, did not in the least lament the blow guns being on timeout.

--More recently, last December in connection with the Middle School play, nephew got to craft swords from fiberglass tubes and then to tell Auntie all about swordplay choreography one Sunday on the bus to our respective faith communities. RantWoman almost managed to rationalize the swordplay in the name of Nephew being recognized among his peers for his endless creativity. Almost. Nephew has a large menagerie of small pets. One of the fire belly toads apparently found fiberglass dust too much and succumbed as a result of one spell of Nephew sawing on tubing. May the toad rest in peace.

If God has, after Divine fashion handled previous moments of fascination with armaments, RantWoman is trying to figure out what to do with The recent Nerf War--at Nephew's church!

The Nerf War?

At church?

Lord have Mercy!

RantWoman does not want to go too far in claims of success. RantWoman simply notes (spoiler alert?) that the middle school boys at Irrepressible Nephew's Presbyterian Church have FINALLY gotten around to conducting a multiply postponed Nerf War. RantWoman has not had an opportunity to quiz Irrepressible Nephew about the matter; apparently, like many good events for his age group, the occasion involved a sleepover and the need, the next day, to sleep off the effects of the sleepover. RantWoman has learned secondhand from RantMom that sleeping off the sleepover is why Little Sister and Nephew were not on the bus last First Day.

Back up.

One blessing about Little Sister and Irrepressible Nephew's church is that there are enough kids to have Sunday school classes of substantial size. RantWoman is pointedly not commenting about whether or not scheduling a Nerf War is the first thing she might think to do with a nice cohort of middle-school aged boys. Ever since the Nerf War was announced, though, Nephew, Little Sister and even RantMom have been all over scouring the neighborhood secondhand stores for the latest in Nerf weaponry including the Nerf rifle, a Nerf pistol, and a Nerf hatchet for decapitating Zombies who have somehow gotten mixed up in this.

RantWoman has been a little surprised at RantMom. RantMom in the RantChildren's youth had eccentric approaches to some aspects of conflict resolution but tried to hold a pretty firm line about weaponry. With irrepressible Nephew, though, RantMom is just as much into the hunt as Irrepressible Nephew and Little Sister. Can we say enabling?

The Nerf war has been scheduled, postponed, rescheduled a number of times. RantWoman has not found that circumstance lamentable. Nor does RantWoman necessarily lament reticence in the face of RantMom's enthusiasm in the quest for additions to the arsenal.

RantWoman does permit herself numerous exclamations: Oh Good Lord. Ay. Dios Mio

Thank heaven Nephew's father, Guatemalan Brother-in-Law is on the ball and apparently appalled. For one thing there are whole bunch of telenovela / intercultural soap opera elements in the lives of Brother in Law's extended family including, RantWoman thinks some violent deaths among Brother-in-Law's several siblings in his homeland. For another thing, brown-skinned kids get shot sometimes in these parts for carrying things a lot more innocuous-looking than the Nerf pistol Little Sister and Irrepressible Nephew were wanting to show off on the bus recently on the way to our respective houses of worship.

The day of the Nerf Pistol show-and -tell, RamtWoman SO needed practice not hyperventilating. It was Sunday morning. The bus driver is used to the routine of picking up RantWoman and then frequently a couple stops later Little Sister and Irrepressible Nephew. Those aboard the bus learned that the Nerf rifle is partly painted bright orange so that, at least in theory, no one could possibly mistake it for, say, a real assault rifle.

Also RantWoman learned about the zombies and the fact that they can be decapitated with Nerf hatchets. RantWoman thinks she has to be glad for time to wonder how the zombies got mixed up in things. Why do there have to be zombies? What on earth is a Quakerly perspective on imaginary undead beings who can be done in with foam hatchets? What about zombies that might NOT be susceptible to foam hatchets?


RantWoman realizes, MAYBE one thing to do is to encourage Nephew to talk a little more with his father. And RantWoman is going to vacilate between two trends respect for the experience of thinking acrose lines of culture an experience as opposed to parenting envy for another 12-year-old who came up in conversation because he and his brother are learning shared responsibility about conflict resolution on a considerably more sedate path.

Oh Quaker Auntie....