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Imagine the Possibilities. Imagine the Joy. Imagine the Extraordinary.
"The man who has no imagination has no wings. "
Muhammad Ali
By: Mary Savacool
It’s the twilight of a long weekend. My two children are bored and generously sharing their discomfort with me. This makes me feel extra frustrated because I myself am about out of gas and feeling guilty that I’m making sandwiches for dinner. Suddenly, out of the reserve tank, it hits me. We’re having dinner at the Café. I strap on an apron, grab a note pad and with a terrible French accent, I let the kids and Daddy know that the world famous Café is open and happy to have them as guests. As their waitress, I take their orders from the limited, multiple-choice picture menu and get to work. After lighting the candles and setting out fancy placemats and cloth napkins, I called them in. Oh you should have seen the delight in their eyes! It was as if they were walking into Disneyworld (I guess they’ve never had a candlelit dinner before?). They played along as “lunching ladies” and for the first time in a very long time, they cleaned their plates and finished the meal with smiles and giggles. So easy!
Imaginative play is so very good for our kids. It aids in intellectual, emotional, social, creative and sometimes even physical development. And yet as we have trained ourselves to keep order and stick to schedules and stay grounded, it has become more challenging to step out of our world and into a land of make-believe. At times it seems overwhelming to come up with new, creative ways to play. But it really needn’t be difficult…it can be almost effortless.
Costumes are fun and can help fuel the ideas. I have a couple of those hideous bridesmaid dresses that I’ve kept because the bride was “sure I could wear it again”…turns out they are perfect for ballroom dancing in the living room. My leather biker jacket circa 1990 serves as great rock concert attire. Sometimes necessity develops the story – I’ve let them act as Anastasia and Drizella to my Cinderella when I had to lots of cleaning to do. Or they have put on magical fairy gloves (the cotton mitten variety) and helped me dust. They cleaned the shower last night because during their bath I told them they were window washers working on a tall skyscraper. I handed them extra soap and washcloths and voilá! The walls are sparkling and they were laughing the whole time.
Imaginative play does not require research, preparation or complicated story lines. It’s fun and easy as long as we remember how to pretend. And once you get started, it feels good. Fundamentally good. It’s almost like being a kid again.
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“Imagination” could very well be this ExtraordinaryMommy's middle name.
When I grow up, I want to be Mary Savacool. 
This mother of two delightful little girls, 5 year old Anna and 3 year old Audrey, has a gift for playing with her children that most ExtraordinaryMommys would love to mimic. It is this gift she has agreed to share with you, as imaginative play is not only good for your children; it is fuel for YOUR soul.
Prior to eagerly accepting her position as a Stay at Home mom, Mary spent 11 years in Marketing and Advertising, specializing in integrated programs and market analysis. From home, she has successfully developed a Bank Marketing Freelance practice and currently works as a Marketing Consultant to the Financial Services Industry.
Happily married for 8 years to husband Scott, Mary views Mothering as the greatest gift, biggest challenge and largest responsibility of her life. Together, she and Scott “are committed to cultivating strong roots for Anna and Audrey while developing their wings so that they may fly.”
