The teacher in me wants to advise you to enrol Frank into a drama class ASAP. Such creative problem solving must be acknowledged. My youngest son had an imaginary friend whom he consulted on his darker days, but that was before cell phones so he would put out a special rocking chair when he called a meeting. Our sons had what might be called a 'Hello God This is Margaret' moment. The parent in me grieved when my kids stopped seeing me as their first helpmate; then I realized they could knit their own security blankets and be just fine.
In one of my other lifetimes (shades of Everything Everywhere All at Once) I have parents who got me signed up in an exclusive arts school so I could grow up to be a modern day Shakespeare.
I was literally hanging onto every word waiting to see what Frank was going to do with that flip phone!
In my self-compassion training work a few years back, I began to understand the power of soothing self-talk and the need to find and hold on to our inner teddy bear. What a wonderful thing that your son has found his now, unlike all of us adults who have had to break down and build ourselves up again painfully to get to that stage. I'm sure you'll do a great job of helping him continue to nurture this skill of his.
Frank sounds such a lovely boy. I love the way you describe him. And that collapse of your ceiling! That must have been awful. I love this revelation though and you're right - the imagination is such a healer.
Thanks Lily — and yes it was awful, like a Kubrick movie. Help! The ceiling is bleeding! Didn’t help that I was screaming. We laugh about it now thank god.
This story brought back dusty memories of me doing the same on my parents bedroom dial phone. I was about 8 and those one sided, confident, jazzed up conversations buoyed me up like a drug.
Any chance Frank could pass that flip phone onto my son Viggo when he's done with it? I think Viggo could do with a little chat 😊
My self-talk has always been pretty positive when I'm alone - smiles in the mirror in private have never been a problem 😊 - but it's when I'm in the company of others that I start to second-guess every word I say and question whether my concept of myself as a basically decent and vaguely interesting human really translates in conversation with other people... Maybe I'll borrow Frank's phone when Viggo's asleep. Thank you for allowing us all to access Frank's intuitive kid wisdom.
The teacher in me wants to advise you to enrol Frank into a drama class ASAP. Such creative problem solving must be acknowledged. My youngest son had an imaginary friend whom he consulted on his darker days, but that was before cell phones so he would put out a special rocking chair when he called a meeting. Our sons had what might be called a 'Hello God This is Margaret' moment. The parent in me grieved when my kids stopped seeing me as their first helpmate; then I realized they could knit their own security blankets and be just fine.
Agreed. I’m ambivalent about drama school (bc I went to one myself) but yes.
In one of my other lifetimes (shades of Everything Everywhere All at Once) I have parents who got me signed up in an exclusive arts school so I could grow up to be a modern day Shakespeare.
Oh dreams/reality,
such a Set to get just right
and a Wonder
if achieved to Perfection
It’s all paid off in the end!
in one way or another eh?
I was literally hanging onto every word waiting to see what Frank was going to do with that flip phone!
In my self-compassion training work a few years back, I began to understand the power of soothing self-talk and the need to find and hold on to our inner teddy bear. What a wonderful thing that your son has found his now, unlike all of us adults who have had to break down and build ourselves up again painfully to get to that stage. I'm sure you'll do a great job of helping him continue to nurture this skill of his.
Frank sounds such a lovely boy. I love the way you describe him. And that collapse of your ceiling! That must have been awful. I love this revelation though and you're right - the imagination is such a healer.
Thanks Lily — and yes it was awful, like a Kubrick movie. Help! The ceiling is bleeding! Didn’t help that I was screaming. We laugh about it now thank god.
Great post. Frank is amazing.
This story brought back dusty memories of me doing the same on my parents bedroom dial phone. I was about 8 and those one sided, confident, jazzed up conversations buoyed me up like a drug.
do you remember the movie Poltergeist?
Exactly !
and pray that he has income to pay taxes on.....
from your lips to HMRC’s ears!
He's gotta be a writer....keep the conversation going....
as long as he pays his taxes and learns how to cook I really don’t mind
Any chance Frank could pass that flip phone onto my son Viggo when he's done with it? I think Viggo could do with a little chat 😊
My self-talk has always been pretty positive when I'm alone - smiles in the mirror in private have never been a problem 😊 - but it's when I'm in the company of others that I start to second-guess every word I say and question whether my concept of myself as a basically decent and vaguely interesting human really translates in conversation with other people... Maybe I'll borrow Frank's phone when Viggo's asleep. Thank you for allowing us all to access Frank's intuitive kid wisdom.