I received a text message this morning from the weather channel warning of the potential for flooding in New York. It wasn’t specific as to time, and since the sun is merrily shining over the Meadowlands I have to assume that ark-building can be deferred until tomorrow morning. The remnants of tropical storm Hannah are winding their way up the coast and are due to hit Long Island some time in the next 24 hours. After the last big storm took out the power in Great Neck for several hours I now know enough to fill the hurricane lamps and get out the flash-lights. I’m not especially worried about losing power. I’m more worried about finding something to entertain Jack and Dimitri if we’re stuck in the house all day tomorrow due to foul weather. I tried to get them to sit down to watch the Chronicles of Narnia last night but quickly realized that the movie was geared for a slightly older audience. Shrek II it ain't.
It is challenging trying to understand the world of the imagination that three year old boys reside in. Dimitri can concoct elaborate narratives sitting at the kitchen table which rival anything C.S. Lewis came up with. Tales of monsters and superheroes, gathered from disparate references which stuck in odd corners of his mind, gurgle forth in stream of consciousness storytelling. It is a fascinating thing to see. At some point in our transition to adulthood we lose the ability to wonder at things and to weave complex fables out of our sensory input. Phenomena that completely amaze us as children; clouds, butterflies, the dew on the grass in the morning, become ordinary and routinized after repeated encounters. If only there was some way to keep this “beginners mind” when we become adults. Unfortunately as we become “educated” we learn to classify and categorize, discriminate between good and bad and assign value to things and ideas. We also become conscious of social structures and accept external limitations on our behavior. Not all of this is bad, after all, if we all ran around as undisciplined as three year olds nothing would ever get done. But I’ll bet we would all have a lot more fun.
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But really, when you think about it, what really NEEDS to get done? Think about what really needs to happen for life to continue; it's pretty basic. I love watching my own kids, now 7 and 9, see something for the first time. They can come up with many interesting stories as to how it might have gotten there, where it came from and what could happen to it. Imagination is soooo important. I think even on the school side of things, it is important for them to realize that there is more than one way to solve a problem, and this is where a well developed imagination comes in. Enjoy this side of your boys. And good luck with the flooding. Those big chunky legos that are too big for a 3 year old mouth used to keep my son occupied for hours, and a few matchbox cars to drive around the metropolis on the living room floor. Good luck!
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