Sunday, April 22, 2012

Reality Overwriting Imagination

My husband made a birthday cake for our friend's five-year-old this weekend.  He had been talking about his birthday cake for ten months.  He had a very specific image of his cake.  His mother sent us an email with the following:  "I want a green dinosaur wif yeddow spikes (think stegosaurus) and a blueberry for his eye wif a volcano in the background even with lava!  Yeddow cake wif fwosting all awound."

My husband made a great cake that included a 3D volcano coming out of the sheet cake.  It was a big success, even with the adults.  Most importantly, Gavin really liked his cake.  But it got me thinking.  His image of the cake was very specific, was the real thing going to match his mental image? 

We do this all the time.  We read a book and have very specific ideas about how the characters look, what the locations are like and an overall feel for how the book's story is played out.  When I read some of the early Harry Potter books before the movies had been made I know I had a complete mental image of the world of Harry Potter.  But it's gone now.

When I saw the movie I remember thinking that wasn't how I had imagined things.  But those memories have been overwritten completely with the movie-versions.

It's no wonder our memories of facts can be skewed, accidentally or unintentionally over time.

The Big Boy Update:  Too big for his britches.  He's getting taller.  His sleeper clothes are getting much too short.  Today we went and got him some 24-month "night night" clothes.  He doesn't try to itch his ankles much anymore so we don't have to put him in footie suits every night.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Rolling back over.  She knows how to roll over from her back to her stomach.  She does it all the time.  She's not as good going from her stomach to her back.  This usually involves some level of anger and can also invoke crying.  If you leave her for long enough, she falls asleep.  But usually my ears aren't up for letting her work through it that long.

Right-size Countdown:  1.4 pounds to go

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