Exactly.

First thing this morning on the changing table:

"Mama's hair is brown,
Gilly's hair is blonde,
Cup's hair is PINK."

And so it is....

Crumbs

As Gillian fills my bedroom with the aroma of Vicks and the sound of Darth Vader with a chest cold (and insomnia for me), I am reflecting on a happier scene a few days ago.

I use to think Barney was the spawn of Satan. But, as nauseating sticky sweet as it is (what with all those Elysian cheeky-smiling, well mannered, polite, and respectful children), there is something to be said for teaching my daughter this:


There are worse things than a saccharine display of adoration by your devoted (at least in that particular moment) toddler.

Other universes

Today Gillian informed me that she made a Tweety-bird sandwich, alternately saying "tweet tweet" and "bok-bok, Mama"! Then she acted like a big monster and gobbled him up. Most gleefully his head, leaving a tiny bit left which she called "baby bird". She popped baby bird in her mouth and said YUM YUM! Then she told me she had a "fat belly" and that her tummy was full.

There are more than a few things I wish people had told me before I had a child. Whether or not I would have actually listened is another story. But I wish I realized how imagining things totally does it...so much that we didn't need to buy 70% of the things we own. Case in point-Gillian adores her pet rocks. If we happen by a particular yard, which happens to have a lovely assortment of rocks for ground cover, Gillian can pick ONE rock to bring home (this decision is not made lightly-it requires time and study and false starts). These gets faces and names immediately. They have a good life here. She made them an umbrella one fine day a few months ago (when she was neck deep in her umbrella phase), then decided the umbrella and "Bob" the Rock needed a table and chairs. Then they (Bob and his friends Rocky, Betty, Elliot, and Bug) needed a pool and kick boards like they have at the city pool we were frequenting at the time. The latest is that at their parties, they need cups and plates. My favorite of things is when I am holding one of the rocks and she gets right up in its face and says something like, "Do you want to go swimming in the pool, Bob??" like she's making an offer that is impossible to refuse. At bedtime, she tucks them in (her three favorites and toy ladybug) a cradle next to her bed and covers them tenderly with a washcloth blanket.

And who needs Matchbox City when you have posterboard and a marker to draw streets, houses, schools, and grocery stores with?? Gillian would have a MUCH harder time walking through town like a "big RA RA!" if the town was anything but flat.

I love these universes where everything is sentient. Everything can speak. Everything can dream. I want to live here full time. Life would be so Chocolate Factory-like. The second best thing, though, is having an imaginative child to lead you back to Neverland.