“If you don’t believe in dragons,
It is curiously true
That the dragons you disparage
Choose to not believe in you.”
– Jack Prelutsky
This past month Owen and I got the pleasure to attend our first play together. Since it was all about dragons I knew that Owen would love it… more importantly… I figured that it would “probably” hold his attention and he would stay seated the whole time. Secretly… it was the perfect opportunity for me to test my sons patience.
So… we got dressed up (a rarity in our house)… headed downtown… and took our seats.
Ever since Owen was old enough to talk… he has loved dragons.
I am not sure if it’s their scaly skin… their mysteries eyes… their ability to fly… or their scary facade.
But… when he is not watching dragon movies… (“How to Train Your Dragon” or “Dragon Hunter’s”)
we are crawling around on all fours…
breathing fire…
hatching beautiful eggs…
and flying off the couches… yes that is right I said “flying” off my couches.
While jumping off of my furniture can get a little old… I love encouraging Owen’s imagination and playing pretend. When we are not pretending to be in a mythical pack… we are using our hands and doing arts and crafts.
Seeing as I was raised by an artist, I have always thought that creativity is such an important piece in a child’s development.
I love watching Owen’s face light up when he tells stories and makes up tales.
I love watching his pudgy little hands bend… fold… and glue feathers to paper.
I love seeing his brain in action when he pauses for a moment… looks off into space… and says “and then…”
Most of all…
I love being a part of it all.
I love believing that there is magic out there…
“Once they all believed in dragons
When the world was fresh and young.
We were woven into legends,
Tales were told and songs were sung,
We were treated with obeisance,
We were honored, we were feared,
Then one day they stopped believing –
On that day, we disappeared.
Now they say our time is over,
now they say we’ve lived our last,
Now we’re treated with derision
Where we once ruled unsurpassed.
We must make them all remember,
In some way we must reveal
That our spirit lives forever –
We are dragons! We are real!”
– Jack Prelutsky
Owen remained seated throughout the play… and aside from his loud banter and pretend screams in terror… he did very well and loved every minute of it.
We actually enjoyed the dragon play so much that we decided to make dragons for our arts and crafts projects later on in the week with Kyle (Bryan and I’s old college roommate) while he was in town.
We threw all of our materials out on the kitchen table and dug in.
We had a lot of fun making our dragons… and in no time Owen was running around the house snarling and flying like a dragon.
Arrived in Crazy Town 