Sunday, January 31, 2010

Mickey tells Graeson goodbye

If you have not heard the details of Graeson's imaginary friends, please click here to read the first blog posting.

Earlier this week, Graeson woke up full of energy and talking a mile a minute. (Although, this is actually nothing unusual!) He told me that at 2:00 Mickey told him goodbye and that he was going to go now. Graeson went on that Mickey is going far away and he won’t be back for a long time, not until Valentine’s Day (which is still a long way away in Graeson’s mind). Mickey has to travel through ten towns and at the eleventh town he will stop. In a wistful voice he says, "I’m sure going to miss Mickey." Then....this is the best part from a Mother's perspective...he says that Mickey is going to tell all the people about Jesus. And Mickey knows about Jesus, and so does Chuck (his substitute friend) and Lightening (his car friend). So I asked if Mickey was the one who told Graeson about Jesus, but then I remembered it was quite the opposite. The day after Graeson asked Jesus into his heart this summer, he gathered all of his pretend friends in his room, and had a concert (with his guitar of course) where he told all his friends about Jesus. And after that, they had Jesus in their hearts too. I told him, that conversational morning, that maybe Mickey was going to another little boy’s house who didn’t have a pretend friend yet, and Mickey would help him when he’s scared and play with him and be his new friend.

So I have to admit, I’m a little sad to see Mickey go. Mainly because this means my little boy is growing up and doesn’t need a make-believe friend anymore. Well, he does still have the other 10 or so friends… but Mickey was the first. And, I suspect, the others will be leaving soon too. (And I have a lump in my throat just writing this!)

Bryan on the other hand, just rolls his eyes….

So I decided to take a poll of some friends to see just how common imaginary friends are. Just the names alone are entertaining: Hawnie-Hawn-Hawk, Ghosty, Mickey (a generation prior to Graeson's Mickey), Homma, Muck, Pepper, Mick (which was short for Mickey), Penelope, as well as some who didn't have names. They are not all people either...some have been 1 inch tall birds, others dinosaurs, others dogs. There was even a woolly mammoth in the list.

Kaela's imaginary friend was a boy named Five. Five mostly never left our house, but one time he was across the restaurant from where we were eating, just drinking his Pepsi. Five started to fade when Kaela eventually worked up to five-days-a-week preschool, and her (real) best friend was in her class. Mostly, Five was just like her and did everything she did including eating, sleeping, playing, and taking a bath. But eventually Five started misbehaving and so Kaela threw him in the garbage. But recently Kaela admitted that Five does still come around sometimes, when she's scared or anxious or nervous....and he just stays there right next to her.

I had my own imaginary friend as well. Her name was Jamie and she was loosely based on a real friend Jamie who I knew at the time. Her physical appearance was vague....no real face or body, kind of like a dream presence....but definitely had blonde hair. And she was mostly an extension of me, a playmate. But I was always in charge, of course! I have a very distinct memory of playing with my cousin Heather and her imaginary friend Mick one day. The four of us were in my Grandma's front yard playing "Mother May I". Heather and I had a brief argument because she said Mick won and I said Jamie won. I couldn't actually see Mick (so how could he possibly win!) but I never questioned whether he was real.

So if a little one in your life begins a relationship with a new friend named Mickey, tell him hello for us. Tell him that we enjoyed the time he was part of our family, and that he has helped shape Graeson into the person he is today, and will become tomorrow. But most importantly, if Mickey tells you about Jesus, pay attention! He knows what he's talking about.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

What have the Williams been doing?

So, it's been a little while....ok a long while, since the last post. Hopefully, I will write more frequently now that we are past the holiday busy-ness. On the other hand, it's getting close to February and our Christmas tree is still up....so, don't hold your breath.

In November, we celebrated Graeson's fifth birthday! He had a birthday party at McDonalds (the best place on the entire planet for a five year old boy) with a few of his friends. (Now his birthdays are now involving HIS friends, not just mom and dad's friends!) He got a new John Deere hat, multiple John Deere tractors, and a monster truck birthday cake. But the best present of all was.....GUM! He was hilarious just standing still, smiling pleasantly, very satisfied with himself, chewing. And chewing. He managed to walk and chew, but talking and chewing....well, that took a little more concentration. And, five year olds in the Williams house get a bedroom make-over, so he also has a new John Deere bedroom.
Later in November, we celebrated Thanksgiving with the extended Sharp family....20 people at the Williams house! (And that was only half of us!) Bryan and my cousin Cassie had a "turkey cook-off", we played a Thanksgiving trivia (some people got ultra-serious and studied ahead!), played "Guess Who Is Thankful", and of course ate, and ate, and ate some more. (Sorry Cassie, Bryan won the cook-off....but maybe next year!) Played more games, ate more, watched football, ate more....good times.
And then.....the Christmas season began. Of course THE most important Christmas item is Christmas music! Bryan thinks the rule is "no Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving"....but the kids and I know otherwise (wink)! Kaela's school Christmas program occurred barely into December....December 1 as a matter of fact. She got a new Christmas dress in a hurry! Sing, sing, sing....onto the next event. Civil War football game (in Bryan's life, that should be a holiday!), weekend visit from friends in Reno, girls coffee craft night, Christmas tree hunting, snowflake parade, hospice Christmas party, church choir practice, Graeson's Christmas program, school Christmas tree lot, Bible study Christmas party, Patterson family Christmas (23rd), Sharp family Christmas (24th), Patterson-Sharp family Christmas (25th), Kaela's birthday (the short version), Williams family Christmas (26th), Kaela's and her cousin Tiffany's birthday party (27th), New Years Eve game night, New Year's Day homemade doughnuts....SIGH! I need a nap just writing about it! (This is exactly why we celebrate Kaela's birthday in June!)
And then January.....well, no rest for the weary! On January 8 my grandma (the kids call her G.G. for great-grandma) turned 90.....NINETY! She is amazing, and full of youth. We had been planning a big party for months, and I was in charge of the video-picture show. Let's just say, it turned into a bigger project than I anticipated, but well worth the work! The day before her birthday, my aunt (on the other side of the family) died suddenly. So my siblings and I were faced with a dilemma....Grandma's birthday (here in K-Falls), or Aunt Cathy's funeral (in Tacoma). Thankfully--mercifully--God miraculously worked it out that I was able to attend both. And the picture show was perfect. Everyone cried except Grandma. It was quite an emotional weekend celebrating 90 years of vibrant life, while also mourning the loss of a 53 year old life. God is good in both situations.Needless to say, last week, I got sick. And had a new onset of a high heart rate. Oh and high blood pressure too. So I was very thankful for five days off to REST. Sort of. (Did I mention the Christmas tree still needs to be taken down?)