My Kids' Imagination

Being home with an 8- and a 10-year-old has proven to make for my favorite dad summer yet. There were times where they surprised me in how they didn't need me as much (in other words, it's not necessary like it used to be to set a schedule). But they still want me around. It's a nice place to be. 

What has particularly fascinated me is how they try to represent what's going on in their imagination, incorporating recent experiences. For instance, Caroline integrated some of her experiences traveling to create a hotel apartment some of her animals were staying in. 

Murphy is ready to greet visitors. The renters are upstairs in the bedroom. 

The bathroom and kitchen suite. 

I love how a chicken nugget box from BJ's inspired her to re-create some of the recent hotel stays from our England trip. 

Let's not forget, though, my favorite little recreation of hers from the summer: Murphy as Queen looking out from our apartment in London. 

Can you tell we saw a lot of royal sites in England? 

Sam, meanwhile, pestered me about playing a strange computer game he remembered I had called Papers, Please. Perhaps it was because he had recently passed through nations' borders to get into and home from England. After playing it for part of a morning, surely he had to re-create it. 

The border crossing and inspection station. 

Closeup of the inspection station. 

Palace of justice in the town behind the border. You might not wish to look too carefully at the gristly back, right-hand corner of the palace. 

I guess for the rising fifth grader, some of the re-creations are getting more, uh, sobering. But this is the kind of stuff I'll be missing daily when I return to my professional life in about a week.