My basement has come alive

My basement has come alive--not in a creepy way. In a cool, noisy, Friday-fun, this-is-the-place-to-be sort of way. At last count, there were 9 high school swimmers here...plus the 2 that live here...plus Youngest, who slips down to grab snacks, then comes back upstairs, where he has complete control over the family room. The older kids not only tolerate him, but often include him, asking him to leave only when the too-old-for-12-year-olds movie is about to start.

They poured through the front door a while ago, a laughing, happy hoard of great kids who know how to have fun without ending up in jail. My kind of kids. A couple of the girls carried pans with goodies, one still warm from the oven. These are also kids who share....yum!

Shouts and hoots of laugher, punctuated by squeals from the girls leaked up the stairs and through the vents. Darts thumped against the board and music blared. Not window-shaking loud, but loud enough to dance upstairs if we wanted to. The teasing and game-playing lasted a while, and then a couple ventured upstairs. Bags of chips, bottles of soda, the carried-in goodies...all disappeared downstairs. They came back for plates and cups and even napkins.

The lights are lower down there now, and voices are quieting, but not silent, as the sounds of the movie start. This is not by any means silent movie watching. In fact, I think that there is often a gender-split debate over the merits the chosen movie. I have no idea who usually wins.

I know that as the night continues, it will get quieter still. It won't be a super-late night, and there won't be a mess when they leave. Like I said, my kind of kids. I love that they come here. I love that Oldest and Middle have this group of friends. I love that Youngest watches and learns about friendship and being part of a group from these kids. And right now, I love that my basement has come alive.