Arrrrgh

Today Henry went on a pirate adventure. You can see his pirate ship here in the Lewes canal, heading out to the bay, and being besieged by a bad-guy pirate in another boat who wanted their treasure. They had to shoot water cannons at the bad guy, and then follow their map to find the sunken treasure. I think there was much yo-ho-ing as well.

This whole thing was nearly a disaster, a classic case of parental expectations clashing with a kid's real-life experience. Michael thought this would be a super-fun thing for Henry and him to do together, and Henry seemed really excited about it, but when they went yesterday, he was flabbergasted when Henry wouldn't do anything, just clung to his leg and said he wanted to go home. Michael was really disappointed, and Henry felt bad. Big bummer for everyone. Luckily, the pirate captain said we could come back today and give it another try, and this time everyone was more prepared for the scene. Henry didn't want any part of the face painting or costuming, but he did want the sword, hat, and eyepatch, and to ride on the boat and get the treasure. So that's what they did, and the whole episode was redeemed. Henry was still a little shy at first, but by the end he was "arrghing" with the rest of the kids. Michael was so happy that it worked out, and Henry was too. "That was fun, Mom!" he said several times, when he got off the boat. "I was just a little scared the other time, and I didn't want to do it that day, but I did want to do it this day."

It was touching to see. He is so confident and capable that we often forget what a little boy he still is. It was also just interesting to see what is scary or overwhelming to him. A few days ago we toured a lightship (the Overfalls, which can be seen in the photo above), and he was completely comfortable, scrambling all around the ship, following the tour guide, answering and asking questions. My theory is that was more of a teaching-learning situation, with a tour guide telling us stuff that was true about the ship, and he's very comfortable with that. The pirate adventure was theatrical, a mix of fantasy and reality, and it demanded that he interact and participate in the fantasy, which I think was weird and overwhelming to him. He's very into imaginative play at home-- carrying on conversations with various characters and so on. But it is odd, when you think about it, to extend that into an interactive play of sorts, with other real people.

All that said, it was a good learning experience for us as parents (it seems they never end, these learning experiences), and Henry loves his pirate gear. He's taken the sword, kerchief, and eyepatch to bed with him the past two nights, and wears them around the house as much as possible!