Providing Context

Gavin is an avid reader. Which is, to say, that he is extremely good at memorizing books. It's uncanny how he can have a book read to him, and the next day you'll see him reciting it to himself.

One of our favorites, although a little out of favor lately, is "The Caboose Who Got Loose" by Bill Peet.

It's a great read, for those of you who are unfamiliar. In it, Katy Caboose wishes that she can be one of the houses in a small country town, "who sat in a row, on a tree-shaded street with no place to go".

So, naturally, when we went to the park last week, Gavin attributes this scene to the end of a trail connecting the park to a neighborhood. He walked to the end of the trail, threw up his hands and declared, "Small country town with no place to go, no place to go...".

And aside from being ADORABLE, it also reminded me that what I'm filling his brain with aren't just words. In this wonderful time that is toddlerhood, where fantasy and reality coexist, I am providing him context by which to interpret his world. This is why, thanks to "Thomas and Friends", all his trains are constanting have terrible crashes. Luckily, no one is hurt. Ever.

I'm glad that we're all so obsessed with books. The magic Gavin is creating in his mind will serve him the rest of his life, and the delight in those eyes when his dreams are real is beautiful.