Playing House for Real

We moved two weeks ago and I’ve been playing house ever since.   I’m unpacking boxes and arranging dishes, books and sweaters, seeing everything in a new light because it’s in a new place. I'm having so much fun that it feels like the kind of games I played growing up. 

I played house, a lot. I had a Barbie Dream House, a large two-sided doll house my Grandpa made for my mom, and a pink cardboard kitchen in the basement with table and chairs, plastic food, cribs and doll babies I talked to and cared for every night after school. 

I loved playing house. We even played house in the nearby woods, using sticks and leaves to create rooms and always knocking on the "door" before entering. 

Today, when I watch the news, it doesn’t seem that playing house is the dominant paradigm. The games of soldier, competition, and survival have prevailed. 

What if we played house instead of war on an international scale—let’s make sure everyone has a roof, a bed, and food to eat! Let’s tuck all the children in safely at night!

How could these games become the dominant ones? Maybe more who played house should be in charge. Maybe more kids should be playing house as they grow up.  

Maybe we can all shift our focus to remember that nurturing is our nature and act from there.