Thursday, March 12, 2009

Are there rules? Wake's other family...



I hope there aren't rules.... I'm not very organized and so since this blog is mine, it won't be organized either! It won't be chronological or separated by subject, etc.. Just the ramblings of an average woman about her completely not average in any way son!

Since he was about 3, Wake has had tons of imaginary friends. The first that spent a lot of time with him was Ben. This at first alarmed me because my older son Jonas never had imaginary friends. He was (and still is) way too busy playing in the real world for any of that! Wake has never had peers his age that he could really relate to so he made up his own. Ben was a cool guy. He kept Wake busy for me when we were grocery shopping or when I was cleaning house, etc.. Despite the fact that Wake's older brother continually pointed out that Ben didn't exist, Wake just ignored him and kept on playing with him. Wake once asked Clay if he could have one of his beers. Clay told him no, that you had to be 21 to drink beer. Not long after that, Wake told us that Ben had turned 21 and could now buy him beer! Just what you want your 3 year old telling everyone! Ben could also do everything that Jonas could do. When Jonas would brag that he could jump off the diving board and Wake couldn't, Wake would respond that Ben could do a double flip off the diving board. Jonas could ride a bike without training wheels, Ben could ride a bike with only one wheel. Jonas could read and Wake couldn't but according to Wake, he didn't need to know how to read because Ben could just read anything he wanted to him!

Eventually, Ben morphed into an entire family. Ben became his son and he got a wife named Ashley. They also had three other kids (Susan, Johnny, and Reed) all named after the Fantastic Four of-course! He and Ashley would talk on the phone forever. In July of 2007, (Wake was 4 at the time) we went on a mini vacation to Dallas for Clay's birthday. Wake shut himself in the bathroom for over an hour and "fought" with Ashley for over an hour. He told us he though they were going to get a divorce.... They never did. Ashley and the kids have always lived in Hawaii. According to Wake, pineapples in Hawaii taste like beef steak. He goes to visit Ashley and the kids at night while we are all asleep. I can believe that, because Wake never sleeps!

Wake talks about Ashley and the kids less and less. Since he started kindergarten this year, less and less of his time is spent with his imaginary family. I wonder sometimes if he's growing out of them or if he is just exhausted from school. Socialization is a daunting task for a little guy. There is also a lot of peer pressure to be "normal". It's not cool to have an imaginary family you love because you've created them, at least not when you're 6. I wish he had more time spend in his imaginary world. I think that type of learning is more important than beating the dead horse of letters and numbers and colors. Our school system and educational philosophies in this country do such a poor job of fostering creative learning, especially in the brightest of our kids. I pray everyday for Wake that the artist in him isn't pushed too deep within so that the TAKS taker can shine through. Are we preparing our kids to be all that God has created them to be or are we preparing them to be a commodity within the global economy? Don't get me wrong, I don't want him to starve to death someday, but my sould aches when I see his bright light get shaded by this drive to fit the mold.

1 comment:

  1. I am rolling laughing! I am so glad you have that blogged so that you will always remember. Let Wake know that I had 7 imaginary children (all of whom had names) and they stayed with me well into elementary school. My trick was to only visit with them in the bathroom so no one would catch on! I was truly obsessive about them! Can't wait to read more!

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