Play poor

When Genevieve's time of Saturday afternoon rest concluded (I'd call it a nap if actual napping had occurred), I suggested playing with our pattern blocks. She accepted this idea, and while her sister slept we played with the pattern blocks (2nd photo in this post), and after a time that diversion had played itself out. So we put the blocks away and began to talk about what to do next.

"Let's play poor," she suggested.

"What?" I thought I had mis-heard.

"You know. Play poor."

"Poor?"

By now, she must have been wondering just how much overexposure to 70's and 80's rock music had I burdened my ears with? "Yeah, people who don't have money for things."

I was starting to get it now. You can "play house", "play doctor", "play family,"and "play restaurant", so obviously you can "play poor." But I didn't like the idea. There was nothing about it that sounded very fun. I told her that I didn't want to play poor, and could she come up with another idea.

At Friends Meeting the next day, I heard something that gave me pause to revisit the matter. Latter that day, I asked Genevieve if she wanted to play. When she said yes, I asked if she wanted to play poor. Reesa asked what that meant, so Genevieve took her to their bookshelf and paged through The Quiltmaker's Gift, and pointed to a drawing of a homeless person.

But she didn't want to play poor that day. She wanted to hear more of my story that I am making up on the fly during our bus rides, which features a family that lived on a boat until it was stolen from them and now they are poor and trying to make ends meet in a strange city. She is learning from me about how "poor people" live, and wants to hear more before she tries to play poor.