Nesting in the Fort

One of the joys of grandparenting is being able to recall the fun of being a kid and remembering what it was like to be able to turn the imagination free.

My granddaughter is a teenager now, but she has not lost the ability to enjoy imaginary play. And she has always loved to build nests for sleeping. She will surround herself in her bed with stuffed animals and pillows, burrowing in for a cozy sleep.

This weekend she tossed a few pillows on the floor to lie on while watching a movie on TV. Then she needed a blanket. Then the nest began to grow, and finally took on the shape of a fort. It involved pillows, couch cushions, a low floor chair turned on its side, a comforter for the roof, and the area between a recliner, the sofa, and the coffee table.

Having created her fort, or cave, she chose to sleep there Saturday night, amidst all the spare pillows inside it.

I can remember creating forts or tents for play as a child, and, when I was a teenager, creating them for games to entertain my younger sisters and brother. It was a lot of fun!

Of course, eventually the fort must go back to being sofa cushions, bed and throw pillows, chairs, and such. It isn't nearly as much fun restoring the house to normal conditions as it is to build the fort! However, Megan did a good job of putting things back in order as the weekend came to an end.

The Great Dinosaur Hunt

There's no telling where a dinosaur might be found. If you are three years old your Great-grandmother's spacious backyard seems like a good place to search.

Yesterday my sister Grace had a gathering of various family members, both from here and from out-of-town.  Little Cordelia wanted to play outdoors. The two teenagers present, Steven and Megan, kindly took her out to the backyard, where the Great Dinosaur Hunt took place. The two 15-year-olds and the three-year-old are cousins of various degrees. As they set about their adventure, it was a treat to see the teens letting their imaginations loose to play with their little cousin. At one point Steven slipped away and hid behind the playhouse, roaring like a dinosaur. Then he ran back around, caught up with Megan and Cordelia, saying, "I think it came from over there!"

On the hunt.

Aha! A turtle-dino!

Steven took his trumpet on the dinosaur search.

Some leaf hunting also took place--Cordelia brought a huge cottonwood leaf inside to her mother.

Although no big dinos were found, a good time was had by all!

Fairy Tales

I'be already blogged about my enjoyment of fantasy and tales of imaginary worlds and situations. But I am obviously not alone in this form of escapism. Of late there have been many movies and TV cartoons based on comic book heroes, ancient myths, and fairy tales. This year Snow White has become the center of two big movies and a TV series. There must be something in the air that focused so much attention and money on producing re-pictured tales about this fairy tale character!

First, there is the TV series Once Upon a Time. Although Snow White and her wicked stepmother queen are the core of the story, this series finds ways to bring in just about every fairy tale character you've ever heard of. It is an interesting series, very twisty, and looks to go on a long time. Its premise is that a curse has brought all these people from the dimension of a world where magic exists, to the world of our reality. With a very few exceptions, they don't remember their true identities or their lives in the other world.

Then there is the Julia Roberts movie, Mirror, Mirror. My granddaughter and I went to see it recently. Although I read some tepid reviews of this film, we loved it. It is a hoot. We laughed out loud several times while watching it. Where else are you going to find the seven dwarfs with names like Wolf, Half-Pint, or Butcher?

And, finally, trailers advertising yet another movie, Snow White and the Huntsman, are now being shown on TV. This movie apparently takes yet another tack on the old fairy tale. It comes out in June, and the trailer looks like it will feature battles between opposing armies, among other things.

It is odd that so many re-imaginings of this old tale are happening at the same time. However, for those of us who like tales of imagination, it makes for fun comparing the different views and enjoying the possibilities.