Thursday, March 28, 2013

Adventure #21: I Had a Younger Brother in Kindergarten, even if My Parents Didn’t Know

I have always had an active imagination and have enjoyed creating stories, even in Kindergarten, apparently. Recently, I remembered a conversation in Kindergarten when the French teacher’s aide sat me down to ask what I had drawn and written in my journal:


Me: I said, “I play games with Davíd and my little brother.”
Aide: Is David your older brother?
Me: His name is Davíd.
Aide: Oh, sorry. Is Davíd your older brother?
Me: Yes.
Aide: And you have a younger brother and have lots of fun with him?
Me: (Looking away) …Yes.
Aide: Babies can be so much fun, can’t they?
Me: …Yes.
Aide: How old is he?
Me: …A baby.
Aide: Is he eighteen months?
Me: …Yes.
Aide: Do his diapers stink?
Me: He doesn’t wear diapers, but I wish he did, then I could give him a bottle and change his diaper.
Aide: I think your mommy would change him.
Me: No, I would want to change him.
Aide: …Okay. What kind of games do you like to play with him?
Me: Stuffed animals. Hi-Ho Cheerio. Knockout. Mouse Trap.
Aide: You play all these with your younger brother?
Me: And with Davíd, sometimes.
Aide: …What’s your younger brother’s name?
Me:…Um…Robert.

This continued for a while. Eventually, there was an open house with our parents, and my teacher became so excited to see my parents. They had a conversation like this:

Teacher: Misses Inman, Jonathan’s mother! It’s so good to finally meet you. Where is your baby?
Mom: …My baby?
Sleep Well Little Friend wasn't a Cabbage Patch Kid, but he was similar to this
Teacher: Jonathan writes all the time about the fun he has with his little brother.
Mom: …He does?
Teacher: Yes, so I’m surprised to see him not with you tonight.
Mom: He’s never had a little brother.
Teacher: Really? Are you sure?
Mom: Uh, yeah!
Teacher: Well, of course you would be.
Mom: What kind of things does he do with this “little brother?”
Teacher: Well, they play games together.
Mom: (Laughing) That’s his doll!
Teacher: What?
Mom: He is talking about his doll. He has a little boy doll he’s named Sleep Well Little Friend. He must have been writing his doll as his little brother.

She was right. I always knew that the little boy in the pictures I was drawing was my doll, but I thought I would try to make others believe I had a younger brother, because I wanted one.

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