Barbies vs Cars

So, I am discovering a profound difference in the creative play of little girls and the creative play of little boys. When I was young, I played with barbies. My friends and I created outrageously detailed plot lines for their various antics. My barbies went to space camp, balls, and the grocery store. They had friends and boyfriends and families.

My two-year-old son, Judah, plays with cars. When little boys play with cars, usually the bulk of their time is spent crashing them into one another and making motor noises. Judah did these things, and also enjoyed lining them up and knocking them over. Recently, he saw the movie Cars (Disney/Pixar). So ever since then, his favorite car is Lightning McQueen, the main character of that film-- he treats it like a security blanket, and Lightning comes with us to church, the library and the potty. And now, my little guy (who is every bit of the 2-year-old independent phase) has gotten a little bit aggressive... so when he began throwing Lightning against the wall, I (in an effort to call forward his underlying compassionate nature) told Judah that that made Lightning sad. This has sparked a rather amusing turn of events. By assigning an emotion to him, Lightning has now become more than a car. Judah is pretending with me. Our cars talk to each other ("Hi Blue Lightning. How are you?") go to the pretend playground and slide down blankets, couches or legs, and eat pizza and cookies. And as funny as this all is, it occurred to me just the other day... I'm playing barbies. With cars. Oh no, I need a daughter.