Courgette babies

Izzie stands on a kitchen stool at the sink "helping". I am cooking a big pile of vegetables fresh from the Farmers Market. I look over and Izzie has taken a small yellow courgette and it has become "A little baby boy" and she has taken a large green courgette and it has become "Mummy". There is also an asparagus, who may or may not be a border, a kindy teacher, or the lady next door.

Izzie wraps the baby in a tea towel blanket and the Mummy goes to bed in the thing that holds the Tupperware picnid box together. Izzie doesn't really even know I'm watching because she's so involved in the story. The Mummy kisses the Baby and they all go to sleep then the baby wakes up and says Can I sleep with you ? to the Mummy (sounds familair!). Then at one stage they all get scared and jump into the tea pot.

Izzie acts out this little play for nearly an hour, uninterrupted. At one stage the baby falls on the floor and his head breaks off so I have to do a quick swap with a stunt double. And when it comes time to actually use the courgetes for dinner I feel so sad about it, so involved in the little family that I use some other courgettes rather than Izzie's two.

When it's time for dinner Izzie happily leaves the courgettes and even takes up the knife, chops the asparagus rather ruthlessly, and adds it to the pot. Life really is brutal - best to learn it young.