Miss Laurie

Dear Reader,

My husband, son, and I just returned from a nice getaway up north. I so enjoyed the change of pace, and I think the timing could not have been more ideal as construction season begins tomorrow (which will make my husband's work a bit more fast paced.)

As a fun surprise, we gave my son a set of Lego-like blocks which came packaged in a plastic wagon. This gift has been a hit. The initial love came from building with the blocks - a moving castle, swords, skyscrapers, etc. Then the small plastic wagon became even more special.

In keeping with my son's very active imagination, the wagon is his pretend dog. He named her Miss Laurie, in honor of his current favorite musical artist - Laurie Berkner. My son has done a nice job caring for his pretend pet and has even included her in games of hide and seek. The pretend dog has acted as both the one hiding and the one seeking (not easily done!)

What I find so fascinating is watching this delicate dance between imagination and reality that my three year old seems to manage well. When I tried to bark on behalf of Miss Laurie during hide and seek, my son turned to my husband and said, "That's just Mommy."

I'm curious how long this wagon dog will last. I'm anticipating that the question about getting a real puppy will come with time.

Sincerely,
Abi