Gioco simbolico

Last week at Dylan's play group, they opened up a new room that is usually reserved for the older kids. It's one of the rooms they will play in starting in the fall, but the teachers wanted to see how the kids would react now that they are all a bit older. The room is for the "gioco simbolico" (like play acting, I guess) and it has a lot of toys as well as a miniature kitchen, miniature living room, miniature wardrobe with all kinds of costumes and accessories they can try on and miniature baby's room complete with baby doll, crib, changing station, etc. When the teachers opened the doors to this new room, all of the kids ran in and we were told "Mammas, stand back and just let them do what they want. Let's see how they react." Dylan and his friend Sara ran into the little kitchen. Sara opened up the little cupboards, took out some plastic plates and cups and began setting the table. At first it looked like Dylan was going to help her and I had this odd sensation of looking into the future and seeing my son and his girlfriend/wife/companion in the kitchen preparing dinner for me. It was so surreal. Then Dylan knocked all of the plastic cups and plates off the table with a loud clatter making Sara cry. He quickly left the kitchen and ran over to where a little boy was trying to mount a giraffe with wheels and pushed him off so he could take the giraffe for a spin. The image of Dylan and Sara setting the table was soon forgotten, and I ran over to comfort the little boy who had been left in the dust...