Children are mysteries. You never know what you're going to get.
We were intentional in our efforts with Thing 1 to avoid setting up rigid expectations about what he'd play with. We did our best to let him choose the toys he wanted. So we weren't really surprised when he asked for a toy tea set. After all, mom and dad drink hot tea every morning.
Thanks to Amazon.com, we found a tea set that was primary colors - red, blue and yellow. We could have gotten him a cheap set of pastels and flowers, but, let's face it, those are just tacky. He loved his tea set from the get go. Score one for gender neutral toys!
A few days later, he was in his room quietly playing. It was the quiet part that was scary. He's never been quiet. When Mom checked on him, he was sitting there, happily having a tea party...a boy and his toy trucks.
Now, I'm not sure that pickups and dump trucks drink tea. But I do know that I'm continually surprised by his imagination and ingenuity. And I'm glad we didn't close the door on him by telling him that boys don't play tea party.
His interests have continued to span a broad range of activities, and I'm proud of him for it. He is a unique kid with a big heart. And he likes to dance.
The kids at school don't seem to bat an eye at Thing 1 taking ballet and tap. It doesn't matter to them at all. It's the grown-ups who look at us like we're freaks of parents. But we don't care.
For Christmas, he asked grandpa to build him a ballet barre so he could practice at home. And he uses it. He's performed publicly as a king in "The Princess and the Pea" and as a toy soldier in "The Nutcracker." This spring, he'll be the porridge that's too hot in "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Not bad for a second grader.
He's even got his younger brother involved. It's not uncommon to see Thing 1 teaching Thing 2 how to dance - both ballet and tap. The other day, Thing 1 offered to play "dance academy" with his younger brother. Thing 2 disappeared. We found him sitting in the corner of his room. He'd changed into a t-shirt and black pants and was struggling to get the dance shoes on.
As parents, we never really know where our children's interests will take us. I never expected to go backstage at the theatre, to be sure. But I think it's important to give our kids the freedom to explore possibilities.
After all, Thing 1 also likes dinosaurs and Cub Scouts. And he'll get dirty as quickly as we'll let him. We probably shouldn't have been surprised that he likes dance, too. After all, he never stops moving.
But I don't have to worry too much. He doesn't want to be a famous dancer. He just wants to be "a sort-of-kind-of famous dancer." Being famous would probably interfere with his current career choice - being a paleontologist.
