Cyprus Mail
Life & Style

Oh to get childhood games

alexia

By Alexia Saleem

My kids play imaginary games about everything. Their favourite game is Katerina and Leonida. This basically means playing themselves in different settings. It could be Katerina and Leonida and the Last Dragon, Katerina and Leonida and the puppies, Katerina and Leonida go to the seaside, Katerina and Leonida and The Lion King, Katerina and Leonida and Moana and so on.

Basically, they watch something on TV or read it in a book and before you know it, they re-enact it with themselves in the starring roles.

If I interrupt them because it’s dinner time, or a bath time or I’m even just going somewhere and they’re supposed to be coming with me, they’ll briefly look up from their game and plead with me.

“Mama, we are just finishing this episode and then we are coming. Five more minutes.”

Even if what I’ve got on the agenda is really fun by their standards, like an outing to the ice cream parlour or we’re going to the beach for the afternoon, they won’t have the ‘episode’ of their imaginary game interrupted.

One time we watched Disney’s Raya and The Last Dragon and then later I heard them playing it in their bedroom. I asked if they were playing Raya and The Last Dragon and Katerina gave me a withering look. She then said: “No, we are playing Katerina and Leonida and the Last Dragon mama.” Her tone suggested that I was clearly an ignoramus for thinking that anyone other than they could be featuring in their game.

The other day it happened again. I have a silver locket that a friend gave me years ago and Katerina came across it. Katerina asked me if she could keep it because it was the perfect necklace for storing The Heart of Te Fiti. I assumed it was so that she could play Moana with Leonida. Apparently not. The game is all about Katerina and Leonida and how they restore The Heart of Te Fiti. Moana doesn’t even get a look in.

Katerina said she was going to be Te Fiti, a goddess who creates life, and Leonida was going to be Te Ka, a demon of fire.

“He’s a boy, so he’s going to be Te Ka. But Te Fiti is Te Ka, so I want to be Te Ka also, but Leonida said I can’t,” said Katerina.

She’s referring to the fact that Te Fiti turns into Te Ka when she has her heart stolen by Maui, a demigod.

“No, you can be Te Ka. I want to be Maui, demigod of the wind and sea, hero of men,” piped up Leonida, who was playing Lego.

“I don’t want to be Te Ka. I want to be Te Fiti,” Katerina replied.

“Well, I want to be Maui,” said Leonida.

“Who is going to be Moana?” I asked.

“No one,” said Katerina, rolling her eyes. “Katerina and Leonida are going to return The Heart of Te Fiti.”

Katerina then opens the locket to show me the heart she has made. She has basically gotten a piece of toilet paper, wet it so that it could scrunch up into a ball and then coloured it green. She’s then placed it inside the locket for safekeeping so that she can return it to Te Fiti. It looks a bit gross, but I love how she’s used her imagination to make do with what she’s got.

Besides, who am I to judge? She’s clearly happy with it and that’s what counts. I always love that about children. How, if allowed, they can come up with the most creative games and ways of keeping themselves entertained. Ways that adults simply don’t understand because they have become so blinkered by ‘reality’ over the years.

When I’ve tried to join into their games, I’ve been asked to leave. Apparently ‘big people’ aren’t welcome. The only time they do want me to partake is if I’ve been assigned the role of scary monster, giant or tickle monster. Thankfully, I don’t often get recruited for that sort of game. I can stick it for about 20 minutes but after that I’ve had enough. It’s probably why they ask their father to play with them more than me because he has boundless energy and bigger tickle fingers.

But only two weeks ago we were at the beach, and I had some rare one to one time with Katerina. We were sharing a float together when, much to my delight, she asked me if I enjoyed playing Katerina and Leonida with her. I said I enjoyed it very much and asked her if that meant I was Leonida.

She looked at me and very matter-of-factly replied: “No, you’re the boat mama.”

It certainly wasn’t the answer I’d expected. But, as they say, from the mouths of babes.

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