Imagination and Magic

We went to see an opera this weekend. Now, I’m not really into opera, but since it was part of the Kennedy Center’s family series, we decided to take the boys. The opera was Hansel and Gretel, and well, it was real opera. In English though, but still hard for me, much less the kids, to understand. They enjoyed it for the most part, especially the Witch, and the antics of Hansel and Gretel. Gilbert really seemed to enjoy it, whereas Seamus was less enthused.

On the way home, Gilbert was asking about the witch and how her broomstick could appear on the stage without anyone bringing it. They also wanted to know why Hansel and Gretel would bring the cage on the stage when they might be imprisoned in it. I explained that the witch was using a spell. Seamus got mad and said he didn’t believe in magic. Gilbert got mad about that (because Seamus was trying to make him feel stupid) and said he did believe in magic. I’m afraid I had to take Gilbert’s side on that one.

Later we had some kerfuffles over Santa and the Tooth Fairy, but it’s all falling into place. Gilbert loves imagination and magic, and Seamus wants to know why. Sometimes I still have to stop Seamus from his questions if I need to concentrate on traffic or something. I thought it was something he’d outgrow, but he will not. I think he really irritate a substitute teacher with his questions one day at school. It hurt his feelings, but probably a good lesson in the end.

And, as Porter grows, he is becoming his own person. Today I looked at him wandering around the front yard, and I thought, even though he follows the others around and wants to be part of it all the time, he’s developing his own sense of the world. He loves to read, probably more so than either of the others. His one goal daily is to force books on me and Patrick and make us sit and read with him. He loves to point things out in the books and looks to us to verify his ideas.

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