To Play or Not To Play

This morning as I was cleaning up the kitchen, I heard The Boy from the other room. Spider-Man and The Hulk were saving the day. Careening through the living room to save someone. I stopped what I was doing and I listened as he played. And I wanted to stop time. I wanted to freeze the moment and forever etch it into my memory. A moment in time to cherish. 

You see, this was the boy who had no words until he was well over 3. The child who had no imaginative play at 6 years old. None. He simply did not know how to play. We spent hours, months even, trying to show him how to play. 

Everyday after school we would take Mr. Potato Head and show The Boy how to build him. And then how to play with him. "Where would he go?" We would ask. And always the answer would be "da stowe". Because that's where we went, to the grocery store. The Boy had no imaginative play. Had no idea how to even begin. He only knew what we did, so Mr. Potato Head went to the store.

We painstakingly worked on it. Every day. We took Mr. Potato Head and the Mrs. and Jr. to the park and to the pool and to the library. All in our basement. 

And slowly, over months, The Boy began to play with Mr. Potato Head and his family. Always the same scripts that we had played out for him before. Word for word, we would hear Papa, or Mama, or Jr jump in the pool or swing on the swings or buy a pear at the store. But it was a start. An attempt at imaginative play. Something he knew and was familiar with.

So we expanded our repertoire. We played with Buzz Lightyear and Woody, Dusty and Leadbottom and Ripslinger. What would they do, we asked. And the scripts came from the movie. Nothing novel. So we offered ideas, came up with our own storylines for these beloved characters. And he watched, enraptured with what his buddies were doing. And then he would mimic. And we were so excited. Because mimicking was a new skill. We celebrate the small things. 

It took months. A year perhaps. But slowly, cautiously, he began to play. Novel story lines emerged. He expanded his characters to Paw Patrol, Jake and the Pirates, Doc McStuffins. All characters he knew from his shows. And then he began to play with stuffed animals and creates scenes outside in the yard. And when I stopped to watch or listen, I was amazed.  

This is a gift: A non-verbal little boy who, a few years later, is now playing in the living room with Spider-Man and The Hulk, creating scenarios where the hero save the day. I want to remember this forever.