The philosopher Descartes is famous for his Latin statement, “Ergo cogito sum,” translated as “I think, therefore I am.” Not to be outdone by the Father of Modern Philosophy, Sam has developed his own sophisticated toddler philosophy –“I want it to be so, therefore it is.” Let me tell you, those are some nice rose-colored glasses he’s wearing! If only that were true, then we probably wouldn’t be calling this place Earth. We’d be calling it Heaven. I’d like a prescription for a pair of those glasses.
Yesterday as I got him up from his nap, he exclaimed, “Gram and Pops are downstairs!” I replied, “No, honey, they’re not down there. They’re home in Boston.” And he insisted, “They’re down there!” And I relented, “OK.” Heck, in his mind, they probably were down there despite the fact that they are really 300 miles away. Who was I to interrupt this impromptu visit, even if it is in his own mind? Please tell them I say hello…
The other day he commented out of the blue, “Everett’s mommy is at the hospital.” In case you haven’t guessed, she wasn’t. That was as far as I knew at least, and since she is a good friend of mine, she probably would’ve at least mentioned her illness to me. “Oh, really?” I replied. “Is she sick?” wondering if he is perhaps clairvoyant and knew something I didn’t. (Clairvoyance could definitely help with a college scholarship!) “Yes, she doesn’t feel good,” Sam responded, continuing, “Everett’s staying home with the trains.” Ah, it all comes back to Everett’s gia-normous collection of Thomas trains. Sam didn’t seem too concerned about where Everett’s baby sister Maggie was with all of this hospital business going on. Note to self: I don’t think he is ready to babysit anytime soon.
My all-time favorite scenario is when I suggest inviting someone over to play and he isn’t interested. I’ll say something like, “Sam, do you want to invite your friend Billy Bob over?” Without missing a beat, he’ll reply in all seriousness, “Oh, no, he can’t come. He’s tired. He’s taking a nap.”
The flip side is if there is a friend he really wants to see, he’ll say, “Nathan’s knocking at the door! He’s here!” So, what do we do? We open the door and greet Nathan in his mute, invisible state and invite him in to play. Why not? Oh, I forgot, we also offer him snacks.
Sure, I could set him straight on his hallucinations, but why? I sure do like his version of reality better than mine. So, maybe I’ll give his world a shot and see what happens. Here I go — “Mommy is running a marathon without breaking a sweat, wearing size 4 jeans, writing a future best-seller, and keeping the house spotless at all times.” Hey, when you dream, you gotta dream big, right?
LibbY