The Imaginative Life

Life with preschoolers is a never ending adventure! Clara's active imagination is just one of the many things that we love about her. She has talked with her dolls like they are real people ever since she began talking and just after her 2nd birthday, we met her first of many pretend friends, "Hi-you" (her interpretation of the cartoon "Caillou"). As she got older, she not only had pretend friends, but pretend scenarios, adventures, and communities. This post is a window into our exciting daily life.

Here are a few conversations we had this week:

A few days ago, I entered Clara's room after her "quiet time" (she usually doesn't need a nap, but stays in her room for an hour or so to play quietly or rest while Benji naps) and this is what she told me:

Clara: "Hi. This is a hospital where I work." (very seriously)
Me: "Oh, really?"
Clara: "Yeah, mostly all the girls who come here have babies. Over in the corner is where they see the pictures of their babies, and here is where they eat." (Points to the floor set neatly with dollhouse furniture, strips of paper and rocks.)
Me: "Wow! What's your job? Are you the doctor?"
Clara: "Well, I pretty much do everything. I show them what their babies look like, make sure the girls have milk and water and bread. Look at all that bread my daughter Abigail made! (points to large letter blocks placed in the dollhouse) She's 13 and she helps me a lot. We had a bunch of babies born this morning. First a girl, then a boy, then a girl, then a boy. It was a pattern."
Me: "That's great. I'm glad you don't have to do all the work yourself!"
Clara: "Yeah, and my daughter Mary helps, too. But, mostly they just like looking at the babies! Whenever we do an ultrasound, they just rush over to see the picture! But they also help take care of their baby brother over there."
Me: "Oh, what's his name?"
Clara: "Jacob."
Me: "Benji, do you like this hospital?"
Benji: "No!"
Clara: "Probably because we have such stinky medicine here!"

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Yesterday, while telling the Christmas story to Benjamin, she says: "People came from all over the world to see the baby Jesus. And even though they had beards, they were still smiling!"

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A few nights ago, while driving at night, she shouts: "Mommy, there's the fully-grown moon!"

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Yesterday, Clara celebrated the birthday of her son, Jacob (a boy doll that was given to her when Benji was born). He was turning 1 and she had prepared an elaborate party and invited me to join her. When I got there, she informed me of the "schedule:" Cake first, then singing, then presents, then teaching Jacob to show 1 finger. Here's what happened after I learned the schedule:

Me: "Oh, it's so nice that Jacob's Uncle Ben could be here for the party!"

Benji: "Yep."

Clara: "Yes, well, we wanted fresh meat to have and he's a really good hunter, so he brought us a deer."

Me: "Oh, that's great! Did you bring the meat, Benji?"

Benji: "Yep."

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This morning, Clara and Benji awoke singing Christmas carols. They stood next to each other in front of Clara's bed and belted them out (as well as they knew them!). Benji held his cloth up to his mouth and shouted through it, like it was a trumpet. Here's our conversation:

Me: "Wow! That's great! Benji, do you like to play your trumpet?"

Benji: excessive head nods and smiles

Clara: "Well, he really likes to play it with Black Daddy's son. (Editor's Note: For those of you who haven't heard, "Black Daddy Dunn" has been a pretend member of our family for 2 1/2 years now. He moved in when we moved to Charleston. The adjective "black" refers to his black beard which is imaginary because, when he has a body, he is a very large, stuffed bear that Dad gave Clara years ago. Black Daddy is sometimes Clara's husband and sometimes her father. They like to sit in his lap and invite him to tea and birthday parties.)

"His son's name is Brn (pronounced "brin"). Brn Jake Dunn. He's 3. Well, Benji's really friends with his brother, Jacob. Jacob Dunn. He's the younger one."

Caroling resumes. Still in their pajamas, they added hats (Benji wore a fireman's hat and Clara wore a black, "Little House" bonnet) and they're off to church. Complete with a covered dish!