Lately Piney has been telling me that she is going home.

"I'm going home now mommy."

Or

"I want to go home!"

This has been happening a few times a week.

I don't know what home she is referring to.

Her home in Russia? Our last home in Maryland? Mickey Mouse's home?

Her preschool? The moon?

If I ask her if her home is any of these places she says yes to all of them.

I always say, "O.K. We will miss you, but go ahead."

She leaves into another room and comes back one minute later to announce she is back.

Me: "Oh I am so happy you are back! Did you have a great time?"

Piney:"Ya!"

Oh to live in such a fantasy world.

I was walking Piney to school yesterday and she sees a helicopter in the sky and she starts screaming to it:

"Mickey Mouse! I see you! I see you! Mickey Mouse!" This went on for the entire walk to school.

This is not the first time. We have a helicopter landing pad near our house and so helicopters are common. Every time she sees one she runs to the window yelling, "Mickey Mouse! Mickey Mouse!"

Also, every time she hears a fire engine siren or police car she yells, "Santa Clause! Santa Clause is coming!"

If the helicopter and siren are going on at the same time she goes into a frenzy.

It is funny to see her excitement with all of this fantasy stuff.

Her youthful imagination reminded me of a book I read called You Are Only Young Twice.

I know, why is a 36yr. old reading about getting old? But this book is written for anyone over 30.

I suppose it is any time after 30 when we get to live our second youth (so maybe at 60 you get to start a third youth? I don't know).

The point is that I was surprised to read that one of the best ways to stay young is to pretend, fantasize and make believe.

Really? I thought. Because I always sort of thought of that as being something you did with your kids- for them.

This new revelation made me realize that I had permission to totally pretend stuff in my head and with other people.

We already do this through books and movies, but remember how much fun it was to pretend as a child?

What if we pretended that we had super powers or that we lived in another country or that our uptight neighbor wanted us to come over and get into her fridge. O.K. this could get you into trouble, but it is nice to be able to think that it is good for us to use our imaginations. To make up stories and do a lot of what ifs..... or someday I am going to do that.... or lets pretend we are lost at sea or on a deserted island running from elephants.

Sound fun? Here is a list of some of the other suggestions for experiencing your second youth:

Read, use the library and computer, write, tell stories, problem-solve, make plans with friends, listen to music, sing, talk to others, stay active, paint, dance, enjoy the ordinary, care for kids, volunteer, take care of your appearance, try new foods, pray, make future plans, continue learning, travel, hobbies, mental games, learn new skills, love animals, go to concerts, plays and movies, stretch, be optimistic and get massages.

Got to love that last one too.

Labels: self help for adoptive moms