Land of Make Believe

The world of make believe is alive and well in my house these days. It gives me great joy, because there was a time in Ethan's life when I feared that he had not a creative bone in his body. This was evidenced when his friend Ellee played with him for the first time (both age 3 then) and she said, "Let's take the baby to the doctor!" to which Ethan responded, "What doctor?"

But maybe due to Megan's influence, or just because it's a natural part of childhood, he's now a professional make believer. I am always being told by both my children that some ordinary object is something magical and different. Megan specializes in playing "Sweetie" where all of her stuffed animals are her children that she dotes on. They are usually crying and she has to comfort them. I don't know what that says about how she perceives our house. What cracks me up the most about it is that she'll rope Ethan into playing daddy, and she'll say things like, "Honey, it's time to go!" to him. So I guess I use that word a lot.

Ethan will tolerate Megan's games, but he tends toward other play. Right now he has a wonderful lego train going in his room, complete with a watering hole for the animals. The other day at a friend's house there was an elaborate game of war going on with all five kids (four boys and Megan, who was loving it). Ethan's games tend to involve building of some sort, or travel.

This reminds me of a quote I often hear, being a parent, "We do not stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing." I hope my kids never grow old.