String Theory

Other title options for this blog post: Stringing You Along, C String, String (Soy)Cheese, Spinning a Yarn, String Happy Birthday with Me, Yarn You Glad I Threw a Party, The Stringle Life, Strings 'N Things, Strings in Numbers

You know, as a mother, there are days when I just focus on getting things done. Cordelia and I run errands and work on learning, and playing, but I don't really dive into the experience of imaginative play. Now I think it is extremely important that Cordelia uses her imagination on her own and learns to play independently. I don't think I need, or want, to hover over her for every moment of the day. However, I try and remind myself to keep a good balance and sometimes it is important to just let my responsibilities and plans fall to the wayside as I let myself play with my girl.

Case in point----recently Cordelia was playing with a tiny remnant of yarn from a crochet project. I watched as she sat on the chair, talking with her piece of yarn and here is the gist of the conversation...

Cordelia: Hi String how are you?
String: I'm sad.
Cordelia; Don't be sad.
String: OK, it's my birthday.
Cordelia: Happy Birthday! Mom wanna sing happy birthday?

And just like that I found myself throwing a birthday party for the string. I let Cordelia guide the play, not really imagining where it would go. We invited the guests


Light blue string was the first to arrive


Red and yellow yarn seemed to be something of a couple; they wanted to share a place at the table.


Cordelia chose her own outfit: A "Party Hat", striped pants, flower dress, and you are seeing things correctly...the blue coat is still around.



We set up the tea service

Cordelia made imaginary cupcakes as I sliced up some vegan cheese and fruit for her to munch on.





We sang happy birthday a couple of times and it was fun and funny. I'd say the whole event lasted 30 minutes, but it was good. So weird and so fun. What a kooky girl I have. I love seeing the strange adventures she takes us on. What does the future hold with this character I seem to be raising?

Project: Mother's Book

When I found out I was pregnant with Cordelia I knew I wanted to do something that was very personal for my child. Something that would extend beyond the boundaries of the standard baby book. I wanted to make a connection with the child that was, at that point, no larger than the size of a pea. I wanted to share with this tiny little being how much I loved it, what I wanted for it in life and just to record those moments that make this one being special and unique.



I borrowed an idea that my mother had and ran with it a bit more. I went to the book store and found a couple of blank books ( I knew even then that there would be more than one child in our future). When I got home I tucked one book away to wait for a few years and the other book I cracked the spine, grabbed a pen and began writing.



What a weird feeling it was to write something to a total stranger. I didn't really know where to start. So I introduced myself and explained a bit about the situation. I told this mystery baby about her family and how we reacted when we found out that I was pregnant. Generally I geared my writing toward the adult this child would one day be.

As the months wore on I detailed the progress of my pregnancy; the day we found out she was a girl and eventually the day she was born. Most of those early posts are so emotionally charged, filled with hope and love. Over time I started writing about the little details of her life, of course I talked about the first smiles and baths, but I also write down the funny stories, the little charming tales that I could so easily forget to tell her later. Like how she used to chant, "Happy, happy, happy." Or the time she asked if Eric and I were smart. I replied, "Yes. Are you smart?" and she said, "Nope, I'm pretty."



Sometimes I will write in her book several times a month and other times it is maybe once a month. Sometimes I quickly jot down a sentence or two and other times I fill in several pages. My goal is just to give her a little glimpse into her life, the things that make her special and to detail how very much she is loved.

Recently I dug out the other book and made my very first entry for this littlest one. I expected it to feel pretty much the same, but already I have a sense that these two kids are distinctly different and I found that my relation of the same information was very different.

My ultimate goal is to one day hand these books off to my children, who will be just heading out into the world, and to remind them of all the little things that make them loved. If you want to start, even if your kids are much older I highly recommend it. My only rule (for myself) is to keep it positive.