Just like his Grandpa

When I was a little girl my dad tricked me into giving him back rubs by inventing a game called Earthquake Time. He would lay on the floor on his tummy and I would walk up and down his back waiting for the "earthquake." Suddenly, he would wiggle and yell, "Earthquake time, earthquake time!!!!" and I would try, unsuccessfully, to ride out the earthquake. I thought this was great fun of course, and we would play "the game" over and over again. Good one Dad. As an adult Earthquake time is long gone, but the deed is done. Whenever I see my dad he flops a foot in my lap. He doesn't even need to speak anymore, I am so well trained. A hand flung in my direction, a shoulder shrugged up and down and there I am, a well trained daughter.
In my dad's defense I do have to add a bit to the story here. Now that I get the game, we do swaps. Mo always laughs at us because we're so predictable. We're always sitting on the couch across from each other, feet in laps. And in reality, it's not very one sided anymore. I am just as much as a hand flinger or shoulder shrugger as my dad.
So now that Ryan's getting bigger, I decided to follow suit and teach Ryan to do the same. I figure my time has come and it's my turn to get back rubs by the slave labor of my child. But I missed a crucial point. I forgot to be tricky. I didn't make it a game. I assumed, wrongly it turns out, that if I gave Ryan back rubs, foot rubs, hand rubs, head rubs etc. that he would give them to me too. Nope. Wrong.
Instead of having this deal come full circle I find myself in the same place. Except now its a smaller foot, a smaller back, a smaller hand flung at me.
The other day I was sort of petting Ryan's hair and I stopped. He looked at me and said, "Mommy! Finish my hair rub."
At night when we are getting ready for bed he will fling a foot at me. "Give me a foot rub. No not like that, like this. Wait, you're not done. Okay, now do this one." Sheesh. He is just like his Grandpa.