Child's Play

 

 

I am so enjoying working at the library. Now that I have a permanent job there I get to spend a lot more time at the circulation desk.

And I am here to tell you that stamping out books is just as much fun in real life as it was when I was a kid and my sister and I played "Library."

Realizing this, I got to thinking about other games we played as kids, games where we were attempting to mirror reality.

I remember being forced to play "Bride" once, by the daughter of one of my mother's friends who'd recently acquired her mother's veil. Watching her hog the veil and make out with the cement pole impersonating the bridegroom put me off that game for life.

In the same way, I would quickly tire when my sister enticed me into playing "House." Believe me, I loved being home with my kids when they were little (generally speaking...), but that had pretty much nothing to do with the tedious chores that "House," real or imaginary, is made up of.

Although it was always challenging to see how long we could keep the poor cat, trapped in baby clothing, in the game before she escaped to the basement, dragging her baby bonnet still half tied on.

Oddly enough, my sister and I played "Funeral." Did anyone else out there do this? It started, of course, with the death of a goldfish, and my father's idea to bury said fish in a small cardboard jewelry box behind the garage.

This was followed by the eventual deaths of several turtles, motivating my sister and I to pull on old high heels, gloves, and hats, and traipse out behind the garage with faux tears to say a prayer and bemoan the demise of these so-called pets, who were obviously more dear to us in death than they could ever have been in life.

One of my favorite games was "Rollerskating Restaurant." Our mother was a neat freak, which meant the cement floor of our basement was always clear. On rainy days, my sister and I would strap on our roller skates and take "orders from the imaginary "customers" seated at our old kitchen table, which now lived in our basement.

We'd then roll over to the "kitchen," cook up the order, serve it, and then clear the table for the next customer, all in our metal skates. You remember, the kind that needed a key?

On humid New Jersey summer days, our basement was the coolest room in the house and, to stay even cooler, we'd often play the game in our underwear. Which made it, I guess, a whole different kind of restaurant...

What games mirroring actual life did you play as a kid? And were they more or less fun than the real thing?

Comments

[Ocean Girl]

We played cooking. I don't cook now. We played dress-up. I don't do that either.

I don't remember playing life much but I certainly dreamed about life a lot. And I think my life now mirrors my dreams.

[Pseudo]

I had a neighbor who loved being neat and playing house... I used to invite her over to play house whenever my mom wanted me to clean my room - the nieghbor girl LOVED cleaning my room.

[class factotum]

We played church. It was and still is a lot more fun than the real thing.

[Lynn]

For a long time we lived in a cabin that had belonged to my great grandparents. The kitchen was really the separate room from the rest of the place, having been an old miner's shack at one time (sounds horrible, but it was actually cute!) It had an open doorway into the living area, which was a fairly large, bright space with minimal furnishing. We would put a pressure rod in the door opening, make up a menu, and play cafe. Going through the curtain from the kitchen to the rest of the cabin was the next best thing to having those cool swinging doors that REAL cafes have!

I also loved playing library as a child, then volunteered at the high school library while I attended, and then worked at the library one summer. There's something so satisfying about that stamp. :o)

[Lynn]

What I meant to say (too early--edited--didn't proof) was that the kitchen was the only separate room from the rest of the place. Rewind. Insert correct text there. :oP

[Midlife Mama]

I laughed about rolling restaurant in your underwear. Shades of Hooters? Too funny. I remember playing outside until it was dark. We would play kick the can and crack the whip until we were exhausted. Good times.

[Twenty Four At Heart]

Grocery store. We'd take empty cereal boxes, etc and make fake "shelves" of a grocery store and pretend to be checking out customers. WHY??? Why did we do that? What is remotely fun about THAT?

[Erin@TheLocalsLoveIt]

Ooohh. I played grocery store too! And my Barbie's always played house.

[LPC]

What a great idea for a post. We played elves. We put sandbuckets on our heads and pretended they were hats with automatic communicators. Except then we in fact couldn't hear eachother.

Poor grasp of reality, much?

[Picture Imperfect]

Hello Maureen! What a great post, it took me way back!

I played alone lots as a kid. I used to pretend (get this) that I was a world-famous wildlife photographer.

I still play that game now! I'm not famous yet but at least now I am taking pictures while I'm making fake shutter noises with my mouth. lol

Have a wonderful day, my friend!
~Penny

[Heather]

Wow I was such a loner child. My siblings were so much younger, so I would usually play alone. I would go to the basement and throw the basket ball at the wall..catch it before it hits the ground so many times and then catch it with only one bounce ect..ect..

I also liked to play dress up and house, but something went wrong with that cause I don't dress up and real house is nothing like play house.

[Erin]

We played school. Go figure.

Great post!

[Kimberly]

Great post!
I'm an only child so I also played a lot alone, but when I was with my friends we played "Dukes of Hazard" and horse jumping. Most of my friends and I had our own horses and spent a lot of time with them. Even so, in our spare time we set up "jumps" made of patio furniture and firewood and pretended to be horses. Good times!