My Husband would say I have an overactive imagination. Growing up I vividly remember creating wild stories in my head and almost believing it was happening. Like when I would wake up in the middle of the night and shout for "Mom" because there was crocodiles on my floor and if I stuck my foot on the ground they would chomp it off. Trust me, I could see the crocodiles slithering on the ground just waiting for me. Or when we would play in the clubhouse in the woods and I would pretend my sister and I were in the jungle and I could hear the hyenas in the woods. Yep, that's my overactive imagination. I also dream BIG. I mean I just started dabbling in blogging and sewing... but in my head I see myself as this ever popular blogger where everyone knows who I am and come up to me and recognize me from my insightful blog posts. Of course I am dreaming big....because I rarely write insightful blog posts. But someday I will be able to sit down for more than 5 minutes without interruptions and pour my heart out about the complexitites of raising children and how good of a job I am doing at it. Yeah, right in my dreams! LOL For right now I just get to brag about how cute and funny my kids are!
It has never been hard for me to create things. I can see brilliant masterpieces out of a pile of popsicle sticks and a bottle of Elmer's glue. Give me some glitter, pinecones, some evergreen branches, and one lonely piece of garland and I can create a table centerpiece worthy of a fancy christmas party. I think that is what helps me sew and make crafts because I can see it in my head before I create something. It isn't always as perfect or pretty as I imagine it, but at least you can see what it is. Everyone is created differently though. I see this in my own kids. Rosie has no imagination. She struggles when it comes to playing pretend or what to draw without being told.
Last week we went to the local Family Museum and they had a modeling clay workshop. The kids were given some modeling clay and told to "create something". Lil Miss quickly taste tested the stuff and deemed it inedible. I guess she thought it was candy or something. Glorianna started squishing all the colors together and making pancakes, Bubba used his hands to make a ball, and Rosie just held the clay in her hands and looked up at me and asked "what do you want me to make?". I told her to use her imagination and make whatever you want. She porceeded to get upset and tell me "No, just tell me to make something!". I told her to make a spaceship, puppy, or a bird -- just a few of things that popped into my mind at that moment. She was not happy with any of my suggestions because she couldn't make them. I then thought I would just show her you could mold it into ANYTHING. I grabbed the yellow clay and rolled it in my fingers and it was like a rolling image ran in my head til the handle was pulled and an image of a king cobra popped in my head. I got it! So smushing a little clay in between my fingers and a little manuevering here and there something started to become the finished project....
Not to bad if I do say so for my self. Gigi in the mean time had blended all the colors together and flattened them into a long oblong pancake that resembled a foot... a few extra pieces and we had ourselves a flip flop!
I was a very proud momma at that moment. Bubba was still rolling his white and blue clay into balls. When I looked again he had his own little scene. A penguin kicking a soccer ball! Yeah Bubba for letting your imagination go wild.
Then we have Rosie who is sitting there sulking because she doesn't like any of the ideas I give her for her piece of clay. A flower, no. A giraffe (my favorite animal), no. A tiara, no. The list goes on and on. Finally she got so frustrated she pounded her clay on the plate and I exclaimed, "OH, Rosie you made a Sun!" The blob had radiating spikes out of it and somewhat resembled a sun. So after 20 minutes we had made at least something. Using her imagination just doesn't come easy for her. When the three oldest came into our lives, none of them really had much imagination. Playing "house" was inconcievable. They weren't really good at role playing and had to learn that from scratch. Over the years, Gigi and Bubba have gotten really good at pretending and playing house and dress up and role playing. It's amazing how far they have come. But Rosie has never caught on. If I suggest something to her, then she can play. But for her to just suggest "let's play doctor" would be WAY out of character. My question is.... is your imagination something that can grow over time, or are some people just less imaginative than others. Is it nature or nurture? Are you born with a certain amount of imagination or is it something you learn over time? Can your imagination grow??
Rosie gets so frustrated when someone doesn't tell her what to make and she has to create something on her own. Will this ever end or will I always have to come up with something for her to create?
On our way to camping this weekend, the kids and I did some cloud watching. What else can you do for 2 1/2 hours in the truck, right. Gigi saw a little birdie sitting in a nest waiting for it's momma. I saw the Chihuahua from the Taco Bell commercials. Rosie saw clouds moving in the sky. What do you see?
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