Maia teaches me role play

About a week ago, I got a new pair of running shoes, and Maia has been pestering me about getting a pair for her like mine. Yesterday, I wore them all day, and so the thought lay heavy on her mind.

Today, it was rainy. Since going to the park was out of the question (that's what she and I usually do on Sunday), the three of us went to shoe stores to see if we could find a pair of shoes for her "like Daddy's."

We finally did in the boys' section of K-Mart. She had seen some Spiderman shoes earlier at Payless and had declared a marked preference for those. We finally ended up with some super-hero like running shoes that have race cars on the sides, zippers (the Spiderman ones had laces only) and lights that turn on when you walk.

"Hello, Batman," she said.

This was at home. I was sitting at my desk in the livingroom, and she had her new shoes on. Since they hadn't touched the ground outdoors yet, that was okay.

"Hi."

"No, go like this--'Hello, 'Piderman.'"

"You're Spiderman? And I'm Batman?" She nods.

"Okay--Hello, Spiderman," I say, and she shakes my hand in a heroic, superhero kind of way.

"See you later, Batman," she says, trooping off down the hall.

She had a rendezvous with the toilet. Even superheroes have to go.

John, March 26, 2006