Green Oasis

Part of the bedtime ritual we share with our daughters involve “playing pirate”. My hand—in classic hand puppet style—plays the part of the pirate, and the girls interact with it, usually by attacking it, threatening to marry it, etc.

I’ve been thinking about it lately (there’s a cerebral daddy for you) in terms of improvisational theater. Improvisers take an attitude known by “Yes! And…“. If an improviser adds something to the collaborated scene, it helps things to keep flowing if her partners take that idea and run with it rather than refusing the offer. So if one person says hello to the gorilla that just walked into the room, everyone goes along for the ride.

Kids are natural improvisers. They’ll make an entire world from whole cloth without batting an eye. Most of the time, I’m the drag trying to keep things real.

“Why is that cat flying? That’s pretty crazy!”

“How can that car float in the ocean? That’s silly.”

From now on, I’m going to try to pull my own weight and see where my girls will take me.