Blarz, said the aliens....

ViMae came to me with four large sheets of craft paper, each folded not-quite-in-half at an angle. She asked me to fasten them together (we decided on staples) to make a book. Next she brought the felt markers and told me she was ready to write a story. She needed me to do the hand-writing. This is what she dictated:

Vi's Best Jewelry Book...and...

The Princess Locked in the Tower

by ViolaMae

Once upon a time, there was a princess. Her name was Golden Rose. She was afraid of stormtroopers. They tried to attack and catch her.

Because she was afraid, Golden Rose locked herself in the tower.

She didn't like being in the tower, so she went to see Princess Leia. She thought Leia had a bow and arrow, but she didn't. Princess Golden Rose put on some jewelry to disguise herself as Smaug. The stormtroopers didn't know she was Rose. She went into the woods and ate some zazzberries.

“Blarz.” said some aliens from up above. They put handcuffs on her. But when she had gone to see Leia, Leia had given her a blaster. So she blasted the handcuffs apart.

She called in the warriors, including Princess Leia, to help her fight off the aliens.

Vi's illustration: Rose and Sabrine

Princess Golden Rose saw an alien getting ready to shoot a bomb. "Duck!" she yelled. "Where?" asked her favorite giraffe, Sabrine, looking around. Golden Rose ducked out of the way, but Sabrine got shot right in the neck. He ran a little and then just fell over, and died. ["Isn't that sad, Mom?" Vi asked her mother when they read it together. "That's the sad part."]

She ran over and put a leash on him and pulled him, but he stayed on the ground. Golden Rose and Leia chased the aliens away. "Blarz!" said the aliens as they ran.

The end.

As her parents have noted, ViMae's story has it all: a plot with a climax in the middle, character development, humor, and sadness. It incorporates elements of Star Wars (Leia and the stormtroopers), the Hobbit (Smaug the gold-encrusted dragon), our Dragonvale game (zazzberries are dragon food), and other bits.

Its humor and sadness both come from an old birthday-card visual joke Peter and I have shared with the kids. (Animals are riding in a car, heading toward a tunnel with a low overhead…. The elephant warns, “Duck!” but the giraffe, misunderstanding, stretches his neck upward and asks, “Where?”) The four of us share this running gag often, and the kids seem pleased that it's a kind of "inside humor."    

ViMae took all those elements and made up her own princess story…and happily, this princess is proactive. Golden Rose locked herself in the tower for protection, disguised herself to hide from the stormtroopers, went to Leia for a weapon, and together with Leia dispatched the aliens. That’s a princess story I can support! 

On being a real ballerina

Pre-class instructions from Miss Ann

ViMae has been wearing tutus and wanting to be a ballerina for at least half of her four-and-a-half years.

Today she started a weekly dance class that will include 30 minutes of ballet and 10 minutes of tap. And how lucky am I? The best time for her to take the class is Tuesday mornings, so I get to take her there. Happy Grandma!

Ballet warmup

I took pictures so Mom and Dad could share in the big day. The photos aren't great, because adults have to stay out of the studio so kids will focus on the teacher.

ViMae did great at paying attention and following instructions (a couple of younger girls had trouble with that). Most important, she had fun and she felt comfortable with the group.

Tap lessons..."heel, heel, step..."

I took ballet and tap lessons for two or three years, starting when I was five. I liked it, but I never had any vision of what it was all about.

ViMae, on the other hand, knows exactly what it's about. When we got home, she kicked her legs in the air and exulted: "Now I'm a real ballerina!"

Happy Halloween, and may the Force be with you

Grandma has been busy sewing costumes, which made their debut at the preschool party last Friday.  ViMae chose to wear her dragon costume from last year with a few new twists, and Augie decided to be a Jedi knight.

There is no longer a pattern for a Jedi robe, but I found some great tutorials online...it seems lots of people still make these for both kids and grownups. Augie knew that Jedi knights wore a hooded robe in any shade of brown, with an obi and a utility belt (for the light saber, of course). I learned that robes were not uniform, and that they were deliberately roomy in order to conceal the knight's face or belongings.

Meanwhile we "upgraded" ViMae's costume. Smaug, a character in The Hobbit, develops a gold-crusted chest from sleeping on his piles of stolen treasure. This year we added to the effect with gold-coin buttons she and I found in my 50-year-old coffee can button collection. We also added gloves on which I created bright claws. A spray of red and orange "flames" tacked to the palm of her left glove enables her to breathe fire, which she does ferociously.

Three things strike me about these costumes. One, the kids chose them for the characters they represent, from stories they've come to love. Two, their Daddy happens to love The Hobbit and Star Wars more than they know, and that will be much more important to them some day than it is now. And three, I know that they will play with these costumes well beyond Halloween. (They both wore wolf suits based on Max and Where The Wild Things Are, made by their Grandma Anita, for years until they couldn't squeeze into them any more.) I hope that some day they'll tell their kids, and later their grandkids, about Halloween back in the old days when they were young and wore costumes made by grandmothers.

The wedding party

The grandkids and their parents all were members of a wedding party a couple of weeks ago. Since Abby and Eric were going up the aisle before the children, I went along as a "kid wrangler."

They did their jobs beautifully, as I suspect they would have even if I weren't there to whisper "go." Their slightly older cousins did well, too. Only the two-year-old, who had her own wrangler, veered off course, giving everyone a chuckle. Vi had practiced her wedding walk both here and at home, tossing pretend rose petals as she went. I got a look at the aisle...there was one large red petal every two feet, dropped with precision for the bride's approach. 

The kids let off a little steam before the ceremony (probably to the annoyance of somebody or other) but they were angels during the ceremony and dinner, and then they danced up a storm. And while other youngsters I've known couldn't wait to get out of their tuxes, or kick off their shoes, these kids stayed "in character" for their wedding roles.
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Vi reveled in looking pretty, complete with tiny tiara and sparkly red shoes. She and her cousin Tessa gave their parents a glimpse of the beautiful young women they'll be in another handful of years, when the boys begin to call. Their parents looked nervous.

Meanwhile, Augie was standing tall in his tuxedo. Even with animal cracker crumbs in his lap, I got the impression he knew this suit was somehow important, and he was living up to it. When the dancing started and the groom's men took off their ties, jackets, and vests to cool off, Augie stayed properly dressed.

Because I was busy shepherding the children, I was out of position to get photos of them processing in, Vi with her basket and Augie with a ring pillow (sans ring). And the family photos I got will remain offline until Abby and Eric use one as a Christmas card.

So there's not much more to say here except that on this day, when the kids dressed up like lovely little grownups, I think I got a glimpse of who they will be. And, in fact, who they already are. And I enjoyed it, but I'm in no hurry for them to grow up.