Help Wanted: Professional Playing, No Experience Necessary

I got an e-mail while at work from my mother-in-law a few days ago when we were both marveling at how differently my children play.

Lucy is 3 years old and is suddenly all about precision while playing. Things need to be placed just so, and if they get knocked over or put in the wrong place or innocently moved by a parent, look out. Whether she’s playing with her baby dolls, her Legos or her sticker collections, Lucy’s imagination is working overtime.

Isaac, at 10 months, has a completely different approach to playing. He’s pretty much into making as much noise as he can while banging his toys as hard as he can against the wood floor. He has the manual dexterity to turn things over and over again with his chubby hands, to examine them from every angle. He does that a lot, but he’s most joyous when he’s just making a bunch of loud noises.

Though they have different approaches to playing, both kids take it very seriously, as their grandma noted in our little e-mail procrastination session.

“Playing is their job – do you think they ever get tired of going to work?” she asked.

No, they don’t. It made me realize that we are all too young to remember and appreciate our own time when playing professionally was our only responsibility in this world. So I’m doing my best to appreciate this phase of my children’s lives, to document it so there is a record. Because one day, they may not believe me.