Playing Pretend (In A Trailer)

We recently posted about our dream to spend some time living full-time on the road. We shared that idea with our kids a few weeks ago. Like our friends whom we shared that dream with, our kids are very excited. And while it’s still a long way off in the realm of possibilities, it doesn’t hurt to have a dream. And we’re learning that talking about that dream with our kids can have some positive impacts, as well.

Erin found our daughter Ruby saving up her money for a “caravan”:

And recently, I’ve started taking the kids to our nearby RV store…to play pretend. They get a kick out of browsing around the lot, picking one out, and pretending to live in it.

“Daddy, you go to bed. It’s night night time,” Ruby will say. Ava will hug and kiss Ruby and they’ll climb into their bunks. I’ll retire to my bed (usually less than 10 feet away). I’ll pretend to snore loudly for a few seconds before one of the kids will blurt out: “Ok! It’s morning time! Let’s make breakfast.” I’ll hop out of bed, give them morning hugs and pretend to scramble some eggs. “Where’s your coffee?” Ruby will ask. We’ll sit at the dinette around our imaginary breakfast and talk about all the things we’re going to do today.

“Can we go on a hike?”, Ava asks.  “I want to look for rocks,” Ruby replies.

It’s incredible to watch my girls dream, imagine, and pretend. They come up with some incredibly creative scenarios and I love watching their little minds process the world around them.

But if I’m honest,  I sometimes have a hard time pretending with them. Somtimes, I convince myself that there’s something else more important that I should be doing with my time. What happened to me? When do we lose our sense of wonder? I want to help my kids dream and know that their world is bigger than the 4 walls of their bedroom at home. And in the meantime, I’m re-learning how to pretend. I’m remembering what it was like to not have anything more important to do than to imagine.

I know I won’t always have kids that want to eat pretend eggs in an RV lot.

What About You?

Our kids love to play princesses, pirates, school, and a few others. What do your kids like to pretend? Do you ever feel you don’t have the time to play along?