Imagination

The beloved Mrs. Buster and I headed to Cincinnati a few weeks ago. We were lucky enough to hear Melissa Fay Greene speak on her new book No biking in the house without a helmet. Her stories were funny and sad. One story in particular stood out to me. She spoke of her son Jesse and meeting him. She had been told by a doctor to find out if he has imaginative play. That would be a good sign of what his life had been like. When packing for her trip she tucked a small plastic rodent (maybe a hamster) that had on heels and a dress. She said that surely this toy would provoke anyones imagination.

When the moment arrived for her to meet Jesse she sat on the floor playing with him and got out this little rodent toy. Jesse grabbed a broom and beat the thing. She knew then that he didn't have much imagination-he hadn't had time for it. The story made me very sad. I believe he was around 5 years old and didn't know how to play. It's hard to comprehend.

I think of this story all the time. Tesfa will "play" a string, macaroni noodle, mommy's hair. Anything that he can pretend is a guitar. It is so fun to watch. He is so silly and comes up with things I would not think of. He wraps his "ya ya" (aka lovie) around his back and says "coke" meaning coat. Or he puts it on his head and says 'hat'. He talks to the Santa figures we have-he dances with them. The coffee table is really a piano in his eyes. A cup becomes a microphone. He feeds his animals and puts them down for naps.

Tesfa is so very creative and imaginative. I am so glad that he is able to have the time to be expressive. I can't imagine a child not having that opportunity.