I won't even dwell on my fears, but my boys had ID tags around their necks, an emergency vomit bag at my side, and plenty of fun imaginative things in their backpacks.
A few days before the trip I found little matchbox size boxes and made little friends to play with on the journey.
Instructions and a pattern for the little bear and bunny are below. But, I wanted to share with you the travelling companions that were used most on our trip.
They were the mousy friends that are always in the hands and imagination of my little guys.
On several occasions my boys entertained themselves with their mousy friends. I'll tell you about them.
With ten fingers they have great flexibility to create anywhere from 1- 10 mice at any given time. The mice talk to each other, to brothers, and to anyone who will listen. They run across a table to reach and play and they eat crumbs.
We ate out a few times and each time the mousy freinds were there to play along.
I must give credit where credit is due. My husband probably planted themousy friends into the boys imagination. He is quite imaginative himself and from the time our boys were able to giggle they had a friend nestled in their Papa's hand. The doggie friend (within Papa's hand and imagination) engaged them, talked to them, told them stories, and he was always available. They love their doggie friend! Somewhere in the last yearthe mousy friends were created and the boys have friends to play with whenever they are needed.
After a long trip to Theatre of the Sea, we went to the World Wide Sports center and the boys saw a toy with two kayaks, a man, and all of his gear to go fishing. I asked if they were willing to use their own money to buy it. They were and it was the best $12 toy we have ever purchased. We took the toy out to the patio restaurant and the boys, the boats, and the mousy friends played at the table while Nana and Mama enjoyed the late afternoon sun, happy hour specials, and conversation uninterrupted.
On one of our last nights we went to an old favorite restaurant, Herbies. At Herbies you eat wonderful fish sandwichs, conch chowder, and craft beer at long shellacked picnic tables.
The table beside us seated two couples who were willing to chat with two little boys. They discussed the mussels on their plate, the parade earlier in the day, and the point of our origins. Whenthe mousy freinds came out to say Hello, these jovial older men were a little stumped. They were on their way out so a friendly smile and goodbye was the transition and no little people had their feelings hurt. But of course it made me think.
It made me think of the generation of little people who need to create. Who need to use their imagination. Who need to play. Of Course it is easy to put a device into a child's hand at a restaurant. I'll admit I did it recently to end a brotherly dispute at the end of a very long day. But really my boys are much happier if they are given the freedom to live into their imagination. It meets them, blesses them, and works on their soul in a way other things can not. Currently, while I write this, they are playing with little plastic insects who all have names and are in a complicated society that only little imaginations can create.
If you have an iPhone, this picture should print to size. The pattern should be the size to fit in a small size match box. But you can also make a sleeping bag any size to hold the friends.
Cut bear and bunny in wool felt. Blanket can be made with any cotton cut with pinking shears. A bowl of porridge was made from an acorn cap, clear tacky glue, and lavender.
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