Ready or Not | by Linda Brendle

Hide and Seek is a favorite game of children. One child is designated as “It,” and while the other children run and hide, “It” stays at “base,” hides his eyes, and counts. When he reaches 30 or 50 or 100, he yells, “Ready or not, here I come.” Those few words evoke lots of emotions in the other children. If they’ve not yet found a suitable hiding place, they feel panic as they realize they’re completely exposed and in danger of being caught. If they have hidden daringly close to base, they feel a thrill of fear and excitement as they anticipate that mad dash to safety, trying to avoid being tagged. And if they found the PERFECT hiding place, they may be overcome with giggles as they realize that “It” has no chance of finding them. I don’t play Hide and Seek much anymore except with my grandchildren, but through the years I’ve encountered many situations that yell “Ready or not, here I come.”