(Photo Credit: H. Pants)

Yesterday, Alex and I were playing pirates. Our trusty ship and crew were comprised of his bed and all its stuffed animal inhabitants. Thankfully on this day, no sharks were to be found in the murky waters cradling our sea-faring craft.

Captain Alex steered us into many a port, where he disembarked (leapt off the bed), negotiated with the locals (all of whom were named after one of his favorite teachers, Miss Charlene) and returned to the ship laden with pirate booty. My job as first mate was to stow the (imaginary) loot in the hold.

(Borrow This Parenting Tip: This pirate play involved me laying on the bed and doing nothing more than verbally encouraging his improv. As a 40-something mom, I always feel supremely clever when I come up with a play activity that involves me in a horizontal position.)

After half a dozen successful treasure excursions, I asked Alex, “What’s in our treasure chests?”

His matter of fact answer, “Gold, hearts, stickers and lollipops.”

“Anything else?”

He thought for a moment, “And cars.”

P.S. Ahoy thar’ mateys: Check out our favorite pirate book, How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long and David Shannon. The story’s illustrations include a scurvy looking pirate cat complete with earring.

Cynthia Werry is a freelance writer and mommy living in Northern CA with her son Alex, four cats, eleven fish and one great hubby Dave. Cynthia blogs at The Good Enough Witch.