Peter and I thought that the way Andy plays with his pals on the Toy Story series is a little far-fetched. Imagination can be ingenious and absolutely clever on occasion, but really? In a child that young? Andy's playtime travels light years beyond just good versus evil. You see Woody and Buzz teaming up to fight off Evil Mr. Porkchop and conspirators, those toys throw up mean force fields that would make any Star Trek fan proud, and there are an endless spree of bank robberies where Woody and Buzz save the day. It's not just man to man either. T-Rex gets involved beside Bo-Peep and sidekick Slinky. And the issues are complex where teamwork and camaraderie are required, feelings are explored and life lessons are examined. We had to ask, do children really mix their toys this way and explore these mature ideas? The answer is surprisingly, yes, they really do.
From the Triassic through space, our kids' dinosaurs travel millions of years to join space shuttles and good astronauts to fight off nasty aliens and examine their brains. Samuel even insists that while everyone else's brains are interesting, alien brains are quite gross. Mars is the coolest place to travel because Mickey Mouse has gone there in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and lots of bats live there. Saturn is a close second because it has rings around it. Those rings must be a wild ride or one gigantic slide right? And it just makes sense doesn't it? Of course a space shuttle totes around 5 ton dinosaurs.
Samuel and Ethan regularly tell me stories about their toys that leave me a mass of juvenile giggles. One of the hardest parts of being a mom is not breaking into laughter when they tell you very seriously and very emphatically about the ways of the world. Take for example my biology lesson some weeks back. While the kids were playing with Mr. Potato Head, Samuel explains, "Mommy, Mr. Potato head is a carnivore. See, arms and legs and eyes come out of his butt." Not only does he understand the concept of carnivore, herbivore and omnivore, but he gets the gastrointestinal system too, well sorta. Probably a bit uncomfortable for an entire leg to exit, so he's a little fuzzy on the digestion part. During this same playtime Ethan brings me his spud and asks me, "Mommy, will you put his butt on? He needs it to be closed like mine. See?" Then he proceeds to give me a turn around to demonstrate that his rear-end is indeed closed.
Just today our Triceratops and Spinosaurus made bad choices by ganging up and attacking T-Rex together. Such behavior was not only unfavorable, it was downright mean and Scary Moose (Sam's imaginary friend - we're still trying to figure that out!) put them in time-out to chill out and rest on the circus truck. If they could behave, Scary Moose would permit them to venture to the circus with Thomas, Lightning McQueen and Giganotosaurus. Triceratops and Spinosaurus cleaned up their act and were allowed to join in the fun. It was discovered that the circus truck wasn't quite large enough to haul all the pals, so since there were so many friends attending the circus, they needed a ride in the rocket ship (the laundry basket). All the travelers had to promise not to eat each other and if they were good, they would get popcorn at the circus.
The picture above shows how although everyone made a promise, it appears that T-Rex and Giganotosaurus couldn't adhere to that promise as you see them hovering in what appears to be attack stance over Brachiosaurus. Poor herbivore. Then in comes Ankylosaurus (what Sam calls temper tantrum saurus because he swings his club) and breaks up all the fun at the circus. T-Rex, Giganotosaurus and Ankylosaurus were later disciplined for ignoring the directions, picking on others, and making messes.
There is a lesson here and I'm still analyzing what it means. Should I be proud that when I say something 7000 times it is sinking in and they are playing it out through their friends? Or should I sit back and say, wow, I'm kind of a tough ol' mommy!
I've learned so many things. These toys aren't just friends to each other and Samuel. They are the best of friends, and truly, no man will be left behind. Don't you know that Party Mickey Mouse gets very lonely when left in the car? His favorite place to ride is between Thomas and Clarabel. Thomas doesn't like to sleep under the covers. His steam makes it too hot. As big as T-Rex is, he is terribly sad when he isn't playing with his pals because he is scared to be alone. Scary Moose needs his mom and dad to hold his hand to cross the street. Ethan's favorite Allosaurus is a twin, we literally have two, and they must both go to bed with him at night. And Tokyo Lightning feels best when he gets a bath every other night. Samuel and Ethan always take care of these pals whether they came from the Triassic period or they picked them up off the moon during their adventures. Just like real pals should. Thanks for the lesson kids - we'll all keep looking out for each other. Loyal, kind and loving.
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