play-doh

I was one of those kids that wanted to grow up too fast. I truly believed that I was an exceptionally mature 10 year old. "I'm a ten-ager" I used to tell my mom. All of my childhood play involved me being 16 years old, because then I could drive and do other adult things (innocent, of course. things like go to Pizza Hut with my friends by myself)

I was fortunate enough to grow up within a "village" family. My dad has 3 sisters, and each of them lived in the same small town that I did for several years, along with my grandparents. I remember getting together at my mimi's house all the time, in my head I remember it on Sundays most often. The adults would talk and talk while we ate, assuming most of the time that all of us children were eating or minding our own business. But I was eavesdropping. My cousin, Randy, and I were usually lying quietly under a coffee table or piano bench to hear all the adult conversation. Within a few minutes, somebody would notice and "send the kids" outside to play or to the backroom to watch Nickelodeon or something equally stimulating, like folding one of the smaller kids up in the hide-away bed. Of course, my oldest cousin, Jeff (the brains of the operation) would pretend to fall asleep within minutes of lunch and as a result, was never sent outside.

Anyways, I feel that I focused too much on growing up, instead of delighting in the carefree days of childhood. Annabelle and Julian are helping me to rediscover those days. Play-doh. The smell, the color, the tiny little containers. Play-doh was one of my favorite play things as a child. Most of the time, my mom was willing to buy it for me, but after a few too many stained carpets, it was bought less and less. She always thought we ruined it too quickly, for within hours, it was no longer vibrant reds and greens and blues, but every container was the same shade of dark blue/brown. You know, the color that you get when you mix all the colors together.

Annabelle doesn't get to play with it often enough. At first, it was because my sense of order didn't want the colors mixed. Then, it was because Julian would smear it everywhere. Or what if she eats it? (it's smell is very enticing) And then, today, I picked up a dark blue blob of the salty doh, and inhaled. Memories flooded my mind of old houses I lived in, carpets I had stained, play-doh people I had created (along with my messy brother). I loved it. Annabelle loved that I played with her. I realized that I have an opportunity to re-live my childhood through my children. Enjoy books that have long been sold in yard-sales. Buy toys that I could never have because of expense or mess-factor or toy excess. Play wildly in sprinklers and swimming pools. I've decided that Juju's nap time is a perfect play-doh time for Bella. And I have also decided that Bella's bed time is a perfect play-doh time for mama...

posted by mindi11 @ 3/24/2005 01:53:00 AM