Make-believing memories

When I think back on being a kid, what really stands out to me is all the pretending I did. Playing pretend is just so essential to being a kid, isn't it? I remember feeling a funny sense of loss when I got to that in-between almost-a-teenager age when you no longer called up your friends to "play," no longer made up games or played store or house. It's just such a wonderful, amazing thing that kids can create something magical out of, sometimes literally, nothing. In the past couple months, Kate has gained the ability to pretend. It wasn't long ago that she just looked at me with confusion when I pretended to do something. Now, she's making things up all day long. It opens up a whole new world because pretend play doesn't require toys! Right now, her favorite thing to pretend is that our little stair landing is a swimming pool. She spends a long, long time putting "magic goggles" on her animals and making them dive into the pool. I'm seeing many more wonderful years of make believe in our future!