Lament Of The Blessed One

Well, I pity my son. HA! But, yes I do. Pity the boy.

Imagine. Just imagine! How awful can it be to grow up with a mother who not only believes in home education…but loves toys. I mean, really! A mother who unreasonably, obsessively, unbearably loves educational toys.

You say, “What could be wrong with that?

I know. Imagine! Every holiday, my son thinks, “Oh Divine Universe, it is the holidays again. I know what I’m getting ~ sigh, deep, heavy laborious sigh ~ I’m getting school supplies.

And as he grows older, I know he thinks, “But, I just want….want… want… something I do not have. My mother is a toy geek. I have everything I could ever want. But, please Universe…there must be something…more? And thank you! ?”

The prayers begin anew. “Dear Universe, thank you for giving me a Daddy who is a tech-head. Thank you for giving me a Daddy who has given me - not only a roof over my head, food in my belly, heat and lights to see at night - every game system and every game worth playing within my age bracket.

But still…the media says I am missing something.” Pity the boy.
Pity the boy agonizing over war. Pity the boy
struggling to understand famine. Pity
the boy who googles fairies and gets this result and doesn’t understand
what is even so funny about it ...
other than how people react.
(Yes, he typed fairies and he was given this result http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52VbWz4BjC4 Yay!!!!! Hmmmmmm.) Regardless, imagine the joy of the mother.

Still.
pity the boy confused about his powerlessness
in spite of having power.
So, this past

holiday, we scaled waaaay back. And strangely enough, he didn’t seem to notice or care. We actually had one day of Christmas and seven days of Kwanzaa. We are still trying to get to some of the presents.

"If it is a good toy, one will play with it until one is done," thinks the foolish mother. There is a reason the fool was the most powerful people in the medieval courts.

This year, we made a very solemn choice to only buy from local businesses. (Who they deal with is their own business. But, if they are local and independent, we support them.) I’m hoping to look at a few more of these gifts over the next few days. I know you can find them at some somewhere local. Google!

Into the present! The toys and games I hope to present are just toys and/or games. Frivolity! I am not trying to be judgmental. Every family does the best the can in the moment!s they experience I just want to offer ideas about play and it’s cognitive resonance. I am not one of these eagerly sought after “visual therapists.”. I’m a Mama who also happens to be a toy geek.

There are board games and there are “bored” games. (So says my son.) I enjoy watching my son be confidant, strategic, and proficient. (Yay, home education! Ooops, yay, active, mindful parenting!) But, one day, he is going to meet an actual shark (who is not merciless Daddy.) On that day, son will have to call upon the eclipse I gave him in utero and step up. Hence, the toy geek's first recommendation.. Dun dun duuuuunnnnnn.

This to post is in response to a new trend of "visual therapy:" Get this before you get referred to that!

The game is called "SPOT IT!" Wow! Under ten dollars..or at least at my local shop.. I got a cute little round tin which fits easily in my purse. Inside is a ton of fun which reinforces pattern recognition. memorization, and multiple methods of play...vis a vis negotiation skills.

Each player must evaluate and assess their own strategy? Okay. Thank you. That is good life long learning.

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Orange-410-Spot-It/dp/B0039S7NO6/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1326602464&sr=1-1

Comments

Karen James said…
I have Spot It in my purse too! And, a couple brain teasers. Sometimes I carry dice. Sometimes a little sketchbook. I love those little games that can be carried around, though!

I don't pity your son. I think he is pretty damn lucky.
Thanks Karen! Of course, I became a toy geek because of you. When we had our play dates in those early years, I remember how cool and powerful the smallest most quiet item could be.
Karen James said…
I'm so grateful for those days.

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