Day 19 This is Pilou and She is Real – Explicit and Implicit Agreements

"Mum, I know Pilou is not real. But for me, she is."

My 7-year old daughter has never sounded so serene and vulnerable. She looks sternly at the TV when she tells me, and I hear the fear in her voice.

"Of course she is," I say.

I think my daughter put a lot at stake when she openly told me about Pilou. We often have implicit agreements with people that we don't want to talk about. We haven't vocalized them, but we know that there is an agreement.

We agree to pretend that kids' stuffed animals are real. What happens when we make the explicit agreement that they are real?

My daughter did something beautiful when she made it explicit. Not real, yet real. She helped me to realize how important it was for her. And how vocalizing adds value.

Nowadays I remind myself to respect Pilou and say goodnight to her as well. Each time I see how happy my daughter becomes, I feel the magic of imagination and co-creation. ❤

P.S. Pilou was, of course, asked if she wanted her picture taken and agreed. 🌸

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