Married to a Myriad of Many Wonderful Things

            Every time I enter the realm of Dramatic Play, I always come out as a married woman.  Yes, married. In fact, sometimes I come out married not to just one man, but many.

It all happens so fast. Just seconds after setting up my center, I turn around to find several Jumpstart kids at my feet ready to role-play. Some of the girls scream they are fairy princesses, others kindergarten teachers. The boys, on the other hand, all want to be one thing, and one thing only: “da fawther.”

 “Ms. Leila, Ms. Leila!” several boys would yell while tugging on the seams of my T-shirt.

“Yes?”

“I’m goin be da fawther,” one of them would say, standing proud and tall.

“Ok, sounds great,” I reply with a smile, admiring his alpha male instincts. Turning to the other boys I ask, “And who are you guys going to be?”

“We goin be fawthers too.”

“Oh?”

“Yah, and you da wife,” one of them chirps. “Yah, youz all our wives...”

Now. I have to say, I’ve never been one to jump into a relationship, let alone a polygamous one, but I couldn’t help but beam at my little Jumpstart boys, my little Jumpstart men, who have taken it upon themselves to tend to their pretend wife. Already, I see a boy darting to do laundry while another races to the grocery store, stuffing Frosted Flakes in a shopping bag in preparation for tonight’s dinner.

It is thus with sincere gratitude that I say (more to myself than to them),

“Wow, aren’t I the luckiest girl in the world?”

It never ceases to amaze me how Dramatic Play can create such a warm dynamic between children. Kids that I swore hated each other are suddenly best buds, working together to get babies dressed, dogs fed, and dishes washed. As a wife, I couldn’t be happier. And as a Corps Member, I couldn’t be prouder.

But in addition to being married to the best husbands a girl could ever ask for, I’m also married to the best job a college student could ever dream of. I am married to reading books, and reciting poems; to singing songs and playing games; to acting silly, embracing spontaneity, and laughing, laughing, laughing.

Marriage is such a funny thing. Today, it seems so formulaic: first the ring, then the dress, the ten-tier cake, the lilac flowers, the opulent wedding.

My marriages, however, are different. They require no pizzazz, no sparkles, no frill no fluff.

No. Just love. Just love, and my red Jumpstart T-shirt.

           

Leila Nasser

Corps member

Team Joy