Magic in the Mundane

I am far from perfect. And I spend many days more focused on my computer screen or a book or the tv than I do on memorizing the few freckles on my children’s skin. I can get easily sucked into the void of nothingness scrolling. But, somewhere along the way, I have taught my children that magic is real.

In our home, we regularly pretend to be things we are not. Knights, monsters, superheroes, princesses, animals, witches and wizards. Fairy tales are told, Harry Potter is read, Fantasy comes to life.

When my son was little, one of our favorite pastimes was pretending to act out the morbid story of Hansel and Gretel. I would cackle while chasing him around our kitchen island in my most witchy laugh. I would mix stories and yell, “I’ll catch you my pretty” without him knowing mommy made a fairy tale mistake. Then, once I captured him, I would pretend to throw him in the oven. Awful, right? I would tickle him until he couldn’t breathe and then he would throw pretend water on me (again with the mixing of the stories). We did this over and over and over again. The most fun times I have with my kids are when I pretend to be a witch instead of just when I am acting like a witch.

My son is well-versed in fantasy and imagination. Our costume trunk is overflowing. Now, he is six. I still chase him around pretending to be a witch, but his characters have evolved. He is a Jedi or a specific superhero or Peter from Narnia. I get to play the White Witch from Narnia fairly often and Princess Leia now and then. Along with these fun new identities to try on, we have begun reading Harry Potter. I do not know if there is any book a parent can read aloud that fills both the reader and the listener with such joy. I felt goosebumps as I read about the “boy who lived.” And, my heart nearly exploded when we finished the first night and my son said, “Mom, I can feel the magic in our house.”

So, it should be no surprise that my baby girl also picked up on her family’s weird quirks. Soon after she turned two years old, we attended a playgroup with other children her age. She was having a ball playing with her little friends and doing well learning how to share. Then, we went outside. This was the largest backyard she had ever seen! There were horses and goats and a playset! Imagine my delighted surprise when after seeing all these wonderful gifts, she shrieked, “Dragon! Look, Mommy, a dragon!” It was a bird. My two-year-old tutu wearing daughter thought a dragon was a bird.

This falls into the same lines as when she sees a full moon and tells us all that it is a “Wolfman Moon.” Lord, help her when she goes to school. I sure hope she has another little friend full of silliness and imagination to join in on the fun.

Most of our days are pretty boring, but the days with magic make up for the mundane.