Children and Pretending ...

Children Pretending

“To be as a child...is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child has a fairy godmother in its own soul.” ~Francis Thompson



Anyone who knows me can tell you, I love children. I raised three daughters, enjoyed a lot of author school visits at schools, and I have eleven grandchildren.

Writing for (and about) children is something I love to do. They have such an innocent view of their world, creative imaginations, and an endless passion for pretending. It’s something all children do, and they do it so well.

Most grownups think pretending is playing, but watch a group of preschool children while they pretend. They work hard as they rehearse and polish their skills at doing grownup things. They’re forever trying on new experiences, as well as Mommy and Daddy’s clothes.

Most grownups also think pretending is only for children, but we still pretend. Dreams, daydreams and fantasies aren't real, so when we do it, it must be pretending.

Only in a dream can we fly above the trees, and look down on friends and family on the ground.

Only in a dream, can we walk through town, look down and see ten or twenty-dollar bills just waiting to be picked up and stuffed in our pockets.

Only in a dream are we chased by a tiger and unable to run because our feet won’t budge, or worse, we can run, but only in slow motion!

And only in a dream would Tom Selleck and I ... oh, never mind ...

Who hasn’t fantasized about picking THE winning Powerball number? Can't you almost feel the adrenalin rush as you plan what you'll do with your winnings?

How about the first warm day of spring, when you stare out your office window and ‘see’ yourself hiking in the woods, or fishing on a lake? Or maybe, you 'see' yourself driving a little red sports car with the top down and the wind blowing your hair.

Heck, in a daydream, we can see ourselves just about anywhere, but where we really are -- in a stuffy office, staring out a dirty window with three hours left till quitting time.

Nearly everyone's daydreamed about getting a nice raise, or fantasized about telling their boss off, because we didn’t get a raise at all. So it’s safe to say, as grownups, we do still pretend.

Oops, I gotta go ... my daughter just walked in with my grandchildren.

To the world, I'm Grammy Heck and I'm going to babysit for a few hours, but ... Shhhhhhh, just between you and me, today we’re really pirates. 

We're going to draw a treasure map, fly to Never Never Land, and I get to be Captain Hook, and that’s really GOOD, 'cause I was getting tired of always being Tinker Bell ...



“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck