Make believe

I remember that Andrea and I went to a wedding when Sofia was only a couple months old. We were exhausted and run ragged from our new experience and the lack of sleep. As we took Sofia for a walk in her stroller outside (in the hopes she might fall asleep so we could sit and just *be* for a second), I remember we saw a father playing with his son, who was probably around the age Sofia is now. And we both simultaneously thought and commented "I wish we could fast forward to *that* age."

Now, I know all the advice clearly states that we should not wish away time - be they hours or days, much less years, and we were supposed to enjoy every moment. But, truth be told, all I could think of then was the day I would finally wake up (from sleeping a whole night! without argument!) and not only have a being who actually spoke to me, but one who would imagine and create and pretend, and inspire me with her big ideas and even bigger stories.

Fast forward three years. We're getting to that part of Sofia's childhood where she takes orders from anyone who will indulge her for her make-believe restaurant, demands we pet her imaginary doggie and pretends her sunglasses are a cell phone.  The other day at the beach, she spent all day kneading her muddy sand and water mix into dog food for her four dogs: Daniel, Luna, Zoe and Bart. This morning, she insisted I call her "Emily" (her big cousin's name) and she waved to me from her plastic ladybug ride-on toy, telling me she was going to work (when asked what work she did, her response was "2.70"...not convinced she has the concept quite down yet).

My girl is full of imagination right now, and it is a lot of fun -- when she is not throwing a tantrum, negotiating her way out of brushing her teeth or fighting with us over some house rule or other. Though, I suppose that comes with the territory: learning that she has some control over what she believes and creates I guess only logically leads to her becoming more rebellious about any rules we try to place on her. Doesn't make *that* part of 3 any more fun for us, however!

But, right now, this is my favorite age. The part where I can participate in her crazy visions, even add fodder to them. I can see her smile as I fake talk on her pretend cell phone -- she loves that I'm involved and believing just as much as she does...be it an imaginary friend, a pretend phone conversation or a story about her toy horse.

It is the eye of ignorance that assigns a fixed and unchangeable color to every object; beware of this stumbling block. ~ Paul Gauguin