Friday, March 20, 2009

Mars meet Venus

As we watch Kate and Sam develop, we are frequently amazed at how really different they are. Not only in personality, taste and approach to life, but in the way they approach play.

Take yesterday, for example. After getting home from work, Sam asked me to play trains with him. Sam dearly loves trains and is now a poster child for *Thomas*the*Tank*Engine. We have the trains, track, puzzles, stickers, cups and videos.

In fact, he's recently decided he's no longer Sam--he's renamed himself "Gordon". Gordon is the engine who is a little pompous and arrogant. Not too sure he's good at picking role models. Anyway, he now wants us to refer to him as "Gordon" and Daddy has been renamed "Gordon's Daddy".

Back to playing trains. So, Sam (aka Gordon) sets me up with Henry (another engine) and a few other freight cars. I am then instructed to follow him around as he drives his train and I drive mine. (This does not need to include any conversation, just some choo-choo noises.)

This drives Kate nuts. She can't stand being left out of the action. Sam and I weren't talking, we were just driving out trains.

So she goes to find Thomas*the*tank*Engine and gets in on the action. She immediately pulls up to my engine, Henry, and proceeds to try to engage Henry in a conversation. This is followed by her Thomas saying to my little engine, "Henry, I love you," and gives him a kiss.

Meanwhile, Sam notices that I'm no longer following him and reminds me that we are playing trains.

Did Sam not notice that our trains were trying to build relationships? Please, doesn't he know trains need to be friends? Well, at least Kate thought so.

She wants to sit around the train station and sing kumbayah and Sam wants to load and unload the freight.

There must be a happy medium.

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