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

Santa Claus: Through a Child's Eyes

I got a phone call the other day from one of my grandsons. He's five. He told me he can't wait for Christmas and wondered what I thought Santa Claus was doing now -- right NOW.

I turned it around and asked him what he thought Santa was up to right now.

Without a second's hesitation, here's what he told me:

"Well Gram, Santa is prob’ly practicing HO-HO-HO-ing, and polishing his sleigh, and feeding all the reindeer.

I think Rudolph is ready to lead and his nose is already shining.

The elves are prob’ly putting toys in Santa’s red bag, and even if they get up early every morning, it will still take them all the way to Christmas Eve to get all the toys in the sleigh!

The elves are prob’ly cleaning up the workshop now, 'cause pretty soon, they have to start making toys for next year.

I bet elves are still finding wish lists from kids all over the place, and they prob'ly should tell Santa if the kids were naughty -- but maybe they won‘t, ‘cause tattling isn‘t nice.

Mrs. Claus is prob'ly cooking a lot, 'cause it wouldn’t be good to have a skinny Santa -- [just in case somebody peeks when he comes down the chimney]. She's even baking stuff for Santa’s trip and getting carrots for the reindeer in case they get hungry.  But Santa gets cookies and milk from kids at the houses where he goes, so that will keep him fat, too.

By the time Christmas Eve Day is here, the only things Mrs. Claus has to do is make sure his red suit is clean, his boots are shiny, and that Santa takes a nap, ‘cause he can't be cranky on Christmas Eve!"

I asked him, "Do you know why we give and get presents at Christmas?"

He said, “Sure, Grammy. It’s ‘cause God let His little boy, Jesus, be born. See we can’t give Him birthday presents ‘cause now He lives up in heaven, so they invented Santa Claus to give Jesus’ presents to kids.

Then -- I don’t know zactly when -- but then Santa Claus got real.  Gram, did you know we go to church to thank God for giving us Jesus and for giving us His presents?”

“I sure do.  How do you know Santa Clause is real?” I asked him.

“Grammy, if he isn’t real, how can we write letters to him? How can we sit on his lap and talk to him? [a loud sigh on the phone]  It’s just something all kids know.

After we hung up, I let my thoughts drift. Who could argue the innocent wisdom of a five-year-old?

As warm and fuzzy as it all is, I can’t help but get just a little melancholy at Christmas time.  It's all over in such a short time -- about as long as it takes all the little ones to unwrap what it took us weeks and months to buy.

When we look at Christmas through a child‘s eyes, believing in Santa Claus isn’t really all that bad, is it?  He is pretend, yes, but as long as children understand the truth about Christmas, then the belief in Santa is harmless -- and it brings such joy to children.

Santa and the whole mystique of Christmas is something we never forget. Let them pretend and believe ... it's such a huge part of childhood and, in the blink of an eye it's over, like a brilliant flash of light.

I'll always remember my Christmases.  I had the most fun with things that sparked creativity and imagination -- the box a huge present came in so easily became a castle or a pirate ship. The smaller boxes we taped together, making all sorts of ‘necessary’ additions to our cardboard wonders.

As I sit here this morning, wrapping a doll cradle for my granddaughter, I'm thinking about what my grandson said. It was all true. The cradle is a birthday gift I wish I could give to Baby Jesus.

Oh gee. Wait a second. Look at this ... I just finished a roll of wrapping paper and this long empty tube would make a superfantabulistic telephone! Hey, ya wanna play?


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