Plan Z

Last November our dock neighbors cast off to sail away into the sunset. Unfortunately the wind and waves and sea sprites had another plan. They abandoned ship near Bermuda and never saw their boat (their home) again. They now live on land overseas and are trying to piece their life back together.

This family had a 4 year old girl who was Zach's dear friend and playmate for 2+ years. The only thing scarier than a mama holding her daughter and jumping off a boat at night in to a storm to be rescued by helicopter is a little boy imagining his good friend doing just that. We did our best to shield Z from the whole drama, but people talk, and kids listen, and he figured it all out.

And so he asks... Where is M? Where is M's boat? What was wrong with the boat? Why didn't the men in the helicopter rescue their boat too? Very critical questions to answer for a little one whose whole life has been his boat. So I fall back on my usual unschooling answer to 4-year old questions... "what do you think?"

And here's what he decided...

He's got a plan and would like the sea sprites to call a do-over. Z's plan is that his ghost friend, Sally, will drive a "ginormous" ship out to M and throw out "not breakable rope" that will be tied to M's boat with "fancy pirate knots". And the ghost crew, led by the fearless Sally, will tow them away from the "bigmongus" waves to safety back home to our marina. The end.

If only play silks, toy boats, and wooden imaginary friends could change the bad dreams that are sometimes our grown up reality. If only our children could make us grown ups understand that that imagination is the key to perception, compassion, and hope.