Anyone who has small children can tell you that they are very hard to reason with. Saying they are out of touch with reality is an understatement. I've come to find that my kids are down right delusional in their thinking. Even though this is really inconvenient the majority of the time, it can work in your favor.
For instance, delusional thinking can be a real ego booster. When I first got our mini-van, which incidentally coinsided with the year I turned thirty, I felt a pang sadness for both the loss of my twenties and my cool car. But when Mateo first laid eyes on the 2005 used Caravan he exclaimed, "Wow! This car is really, really BIG and really, really FAST. Mommy drives a blue race car now!" Or the other day, at WalMart, when Nico pointed to a copy of people magazine featuring Sandra Bullock on the cover and said, "Hey look! It's mommy!" One day they will be teenagers who are well aware that I do NOT look like Sandra Bullock or drive a cool car, but hey, for now let's not shatter this myth.
Delusional thinking can also be quite economical as well. While deciding on vacation spots for the family this summer, Max, who has minimal interest in these things, just said, "Why don't you just take them to Chuck E. Cheese and tell them it's Legoland. They won't know the difference." Sounds sad, but you know what? He's right. They think going to Target is better than a Disney Cruise. Getting to buy a $0.25 ring pop is just as exciting as a $100 toy, and holds their interest for about as long. Again, I'm sure this won't be the case forever, so I'm taking advantage of it while I can.
Reflecting on it, being a delusional thinker is really not all bad. I mean, even I have my recurring delusional thoughts, like thinking one day I'll be out of debt, weight 130lbs, and wear stylish clothes free of ketchup stains. And what's wrong with that if it makes me happy and doesn't hurt anyone. Here's to delusional thinking, may we all embrace it.
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