Life of the Mind
Lately I seem to have been stuck in an endless kvetching loop when it comes to Sean. That simply won't do, since there is so much endearing and amazing about him these days. One thing I'm especially struck by is his 3-year-old imagination. I love to watch him engage in make-believe play and see how he can take any object and transform it into something entirely different, sometimes credibly and other times fantastically:
-- A yo-yo becomes an extension cord affixed to, variously, a leaf-blower, a saw, and a hedge-trimmer. He "plugs" the end of the yo-yo string into the deck railing, and he very carefully wraps the string around the yo-yo, announcing that he has to wind up his extension cord and that we have to stand back.
-- The vacuum cleaner attachment turns into a leaf blower, too, and he uses it to clean off his "roof"---the landing on the steps. It's always his roof, by the way. He's quick to point out that anyone walking up the stairs is treading on his turf.
-- Some of the most elaborate pretending occurs when he is re-enacting scenes from a Thomas video. For example, he'll take his blanket, with its fleecy white underside, and transform it into a snowbank. Train after train will crash into the snow, requiring rescue from one of the other trains. Then all the trains will pull into Tidmouth Sheds, usually represented by a pillow set on an angle against the end of the sofa.
-- The calculator becomes a telephone, the large key that operates our mechanical doorbell becomes a jackhammer, a large cloth napkin becomes a superhero cape (you should see our fearsome trio of superheroes -- Super Sean, Super Allie, and Super Mommy), a plastic cup used for rinsing during bathtime becomes a fishbowl and, mysteriously, an ice cream cone.
I sometimes just sit by quietly and watch him play. It's always fascinating.
I am the least creative and imaginative person I know; I wonder if I did the same thing as a toddler? If so, where on earth did that capacity go?
Lately I seem to have been stuck in an endless kvetching loop when it comes to Sean. That simply won't do, since there is so much endearing and amazing about him these days. One thing I'm especially struck by is his 3-year-old imagination. I love to watch him engage in make-believe play and see how he can take any object and transform it into something entirely different, sometimes credibly and other times fantastically:
-- A yo-yo becomes an extension cord affixed to, variously, a leaf-blower, a saw, and a hedge-trimmer. He "plugs" the end of the yo-yo string into the deck railing, and he very carefully wraps the string around the yo-yo, announcing that he has to wind up his extension cord and that we have to stand back.
-- The vacuum cleaner attachment turns into a leaf blower, too, and he uses it to clean off his "roof"---the landing on the steps. It's always his roof, by the way. He's quick to point out that anyone walking up the stairs is treading on his turf.
-- Some of the most elaborate pretending occurs when he is re-enacting scenes from a Thomas video. For example, he'll take his blanket, with its fleecy white underside, and transform it into a snowbank. Train after train will crash into the snow, requiring rescue from one of the other trains. Then all the trains will pull into Tidmouth Sheds, usually represented by a pillow set on an angle against the end of the sofa.
-- The calculator becomes a telephone, the large key that operates our mechanical doorbell becomes a jackhammer, a large cloth napkin becomes a superhero cape (you should see our fearsome trio of superheroes -- Super Sean, Super Allie, and Super Mommy), a plastic cup used for rinsing during bathtime becomes a fishbowl and, mysteriously, an ice cream cone.
I sometimes just sit by quietly and watch him play. It's always fascinating.
I am the least creative and imaginative person I know; I wonder if I did the same thing as a toddler? If so, where on earth did that capacity go?
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posted by Suzanne @ 10:40 PM
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