My New Toy Story

A good friend of mine has children whose birthdays are merely a day apart. Last week, her daughter turned 5, and her son turned 12 the very next day. How exciting! But with the influx of presents she had to reconsider the existing lot of toys that were currently NOT receiving much play time (if any). Additionally, they're a military family and have had numerous one-year assignments (this being one, the next being yet another).

After school one afternoon, she handed me a large bag with puzzles (my kids LOVE puzzles), a large bag with G.I. Joes (now my son can play with Barbie-sized G.I. Joes rather than Barbie-sized, well, Barbies. And instead of dressing up Barbie+Co. in sequined gowns, he can change his dude's camo accessories and switch out his aresenal of guns), and a GIANT tub with a nearly 36" replica of the Black Pearl and other replica items from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Picture her like a younger, hipper version of Santa who drives a fly minivan instead of a sleigh. I couldn't thank her enough and wanted to pay her for all the awesome stuff. But she insisted these items were either going to Goodwill or to me.

I spent a large part of the afternoon assembling the ship and other buildings (assembly is NOT my strong point, but the husband was working). The kids could barely contain their excitement. As soon as I completed each piece, they'd immediately start playing. I enjoyed listening to their imaginations and stories unfold as their 4" pirates fought each other and scaled buildings in a single bound.


Nearly everyday, my 5-year-old comes home from preschool, she runs upstairs to change into a princess dress. (My mother in-law is an amazing seamstress who sews fabulous costumes for the kids each Halloween. This past year, Sophia was Sleeping Beauty, but the year before that she was Snow White.) After school, she changes into a dress for the afternoon - complete with cape and high-heeled plastic shoes - and she wants me to join her for afternoon tea with the rest of her princesses. I'm typically in the middle of putting lunch together quickly, so that I can get back to work...and I don't always take the time to have tea. But I should.

I love the movie Toy Story 3. It's such a poignant part of the story when Andy delivered his toys to a girl one-third his age who couldn't wait to play with them. And it even showed that Andy, who had very little time for his toys since he was too "old," had fun playing, too. It was also touching to see that toys can have new life in another, smaller person's hands.

I'm surprised how rejuvenating playing can be. It seems that when work becomes overwhelming, a little play time not only gives me perspective but usually an AH-HA moment I was looking for as well. There's something so critical (for me at least) that involves getting on the floor to play. Maybe it's because I'm at eye-level. Or maybe it's because we're connecting in a different way than I typically do (like barking orders to clean up their rooms for the 80th time that day).

But this week, even though deadlines were looming, I lingered with the pirates and their ship for a bit longer than normal because these moments for pirates and impromptu tea parties are a limited-time opportunity.