terrypetersen

For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher 1749-1832) 

My two older granddaughters love one another. However, sibling rivalry lives, and Grandma needs creative energy to keep the girls from fighting for her undivided attention.

The three of us sit on my bed as Kate and Rebe create a unique pretend-family scenario. They are two-month-old twins who have grown and developed with freakish speed.

I laugh. “You know in the real world you two would be followed night and day. The paparazzi wouldn’t let you make a step without taking a picture of it.”

“I heard that word before on a show,” Kate says, “but I didn’t know what it meant.”

I explain the word paparazzi and the girls chant pa-pa-razz-i, as if power were in the sound and rhythm of the syllables. Even five-year-old Rebe squeals,” The paparazzi are here,” as she hides under the blankets.

We dramatize situations where our impossible infant geniuses walk, talk, draw pictures, and even write a story about being attacked by a lion, then survive. The monster spies appear at every turn. Before long Kate discovers that fame may not be what it is cracked up to be. She wants to play something different.

Rebe says she is going to stay with the game. The paparazzi have captured her. She is going with them to be famous. Run-and-hide hasn’t taught her the flip side of glitz. At her age, time and place haven’t been pinned down yet. Real life and play wear indefinite edges, like one waterway merging into another. Nevertheless, our five-year-old is reaching for something greater than herself.

As the mood settles Kate decides to write more of the story about the girl, named Kate, who survives a wild animal attack. Maybe she understands metaphor more than I realize, and she’s playing the same game with different characters.

Learning comes in bits and pieces.