The Silly Side

Thank you for the kind words of support after my last post about Gracie's dental experience. I write about things such as that for two main reasons...to process the situation for myself in a way that I can reflect back on as I learn from it, and to help other parents who may be dealing with similar things. I think it's easy for us parents to feel that we have failed our child when they don't cooperate in a situation the way we think they should; the way we think is "normal", as has been dictated to us by society and the experiences and standards of others. I say to that...you have not failed, nor has your child. We each are unique and have our own way of dealing with things, and it's important not to let the judgements and assumptions of others get us down. 

So, moving on...it's not all anxiety and difficulties around here! Gracie has the most fabulous imagination, and her ability to entertain herself has always been one of her strengths. This past year she has embraced the written word in many ways; she loves to read, and she loves to write. She recently wrote an adorable short story, and has encouraged me to share it with my blog audience. Keep in mind, she just turned 8 years young...she is innocent in all the best ways, and the context of her story is very literal for her. We as adults read it and find all sorts of silly, cute innuendos that we giggle at, and she will have so much fun reading this when she's older and understands the facts of life. For now, please enjoy this as a light-hearted, fun example of the imagination of Gracie, as she expresses herself through writing. 

'The Big Day For Gracie!'

by Gracie, age 8

One day in the big city there was a surprise for the special girl whose name was Gracie. She wore a tuxedo suit, even though she was a girl. No one knew what the surprise was for. Everyone brought a gift for her. A tall man stepped on the stage and said: She is coming! Gracie did not  know why a stage was there. A man said 'go on the stage' and Gracie went on the stage and then everybody yelled really loud 'Surprise!!!'. Gracie got really startled by the loud noise and she fell to the ground. But she was ok. One at a time each person went up on the stage and gave Gracie a gift, that is what the gifts are for. A little boy named Joel said 'You are a grownup right?'. I said yes. 'And you are married right.' I said yes. 'Do you have any kids?' I said no. 'So go the the hospital.' Why? 'Because it is a secret.' Why? 'Just go, ok?'. So Gracie went to the hospital. A man was working there, he said "Are you Gracie?" and I said yes. "Come this way", so I followed the person. He brought me to a room with a machine that said: Pregnant. 'Oh no, I have to call my husband' I said. "Ok" said the man. I called Ryan. He is my husband. And I said to him: Ryan, get over here, I am going to get pregnant. Ryan said "Ok!" He got there just in time, a man was putting me in a bed on wheels. A hospital bed! Ryan said, "Ok, my wife can get pregnant." The man put me in a machine! It took like ten or 20 minutes and when I came out I was pregnant! I said O.M.G. and so did Ryan! A couple months later me and Ryan and my family went on a boat ride. In the middle of the ride the baby in my tummy was pushing and kicking so we all got off the boat in a hurry. They all picked me up and quickly we found a hospital and I went in there and I pushed the baby out. We named the baby David.

The End.

written 12-20-15

Ah, the innocence! Gracie has always liked playing 'being pregnant' and she loves babies. She often talks about when she is a grownup and gets married, she will marry Ryan (her BFF from Kindergarten) and they will have one baby boy and name him David. She does not like loud noises at all, and she is much happier wearing pants over a dress for special occasions. She has no idea how babies are made (and she reads quite well and may very likely read this blog post, so we will just leave that at that for now!!) but I think her version of it is fantastic!! A few days prior to her writing this story, she watched Cheaper By The Dozen 2 and was enchanted with the oldest child being pregnant, and at the end of the movie the family is all out on a boat, and the daughter goes into labor. I love how Gracie incorporated her dreams of the future, her comfort zone, and a movie sequence that left an impression on her into a cute short story that she was very proud of writing! She has written 2 more stories to follow this one, Day 2 and Day 3, but this first one is the best example of imagination!