Reality Bites

Caden has many qualities that make him wonderfully unique, but a current "talent" surfacing frequently in our home is his ability to float in and out of both reality and fantasy life. After watching a television show, a movie, or reading a book, he often becomes one of the characters. He will change his voice, his language, his actions. He also expects me to do the same, based on a related character that he has chosen for me.

Example: after watching the movie "Bolt" (chosen for it's cool name), he randomly would become the dog named Bolt. Gratefully, Bolt is a talking dog in the movie, so Caden could verbalize to me Bolt's lines from the movie: "watch out for Dr. Calico!" "The green-eyed man is coming to get you!" In this fantastical re-enactment, I am usually Penny, the lovely red-headed girl who is a good friend to Bolt. In lesser times, I am Rhino, the obese gerbil/hamster/rodent-type character who spends most of the movie rolling around inside a plastic ball.

I've been dinosaurs of all varieties, monster trucks, different members of my extended family (and not all female), Veggie Tales, and every imaginable Disney character. It happens so often it has become a regular part of our household.

Too regular. One night we were awakened in the middle of the night to Caden screaming. He was still in his bed, so apparently he was having some sort of nightmare or night terror. "Green shirt! Green shirt!" he kept yelling. We attempted to calm him down, to rub his back and comfort him back to sleep. "Caden, ssshhh. It's alright. Go back to sleep." But Caden was restless, eyes still closed, the issue unresolved. Then David realized why. The boy in the bed was not Caden.

"Shh, Theodore. It's Dave Seville. You're a good little chipmunk. Go back to sleep."

And with that, the restlessness stopped and Caden--I mean Theodore--went peacefully back to sleep.