Other times, I would go out to the fallen-down, tucked-away willow that was my secret hideout, and I’d be an adventurer discovering a new world. Sometimes, I would line up all my dolls and stuffed animals and be a teacher.
As I watch my daughter play dress-up, accompanied with other kinds of pretend play, I smile. Her imagination is so fertile and her interpretation of how things work is right on.
To be honest, I have to admit I still play some dress-up and pretend games. I pretend sometimes that I’m not a wife and mother, and I long for the days of productivity and efficiency that seem so surreal to me now. At other times, I pretend that this whole “Catholic thing” isn’t important, and I act in ways that, no doubt, make Jesus wince.
There are times I pretend that I’m in charge, that I’m the one who has to solve all the problems. I dress myself up in a confidence that fits as badly as Mom’s old gown and parade around. I pretend that what I’ve been asked – called – to do doesn’t matter.
And then I wonder why I’m so unhappy.
I could learn a lesson from my daughter’s games of dress-up. She is emulating what will come; she’s acting out things she’s observed from me and other role models. When I dress myself up in the guise of wishing-I-were-someone-else, I’m not striving toward the Kingdom, I’m sinking toward the world. When I wish for things to be different, I’m not giving the present moment to God; I’m not letting him take care of things.
Here at Snoring Scholar, you'll find marriage and motherhood, book talk and rambling remarks, observations and distractions, in the midst of life in rural Ohio on a farm, with kids, critters, and Catholic flair.
Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative, or Clueless is now available for ordering! 
