I decided to introduce my daughter to magic.  Not fairy tale magic, but optical allusions, and “Pick-a-card-any-card” kind of magic.  My brother was excellent at magic, knew lots of great tricks.  I used a few of the simple card tricks I picked up from him on my daughter.  It was so fantastic to see her amazement plain on her face.  She thought for sure that I was magical, and that I could do real magic. 

I’m not one to lie to my kids so I wanted her to understand that while it looked magical, it really wasn’t.  It was a trick, I was tricking her.  I didn’t show her how to do the tricks, most were probably above her at this point, but I wanted her to understand that I didn’t have any magical powers.  That way when she asks me to produce a purple pony out of a hat I don’t disappoint her.  Honesty rules.  We talked about slight of hand, and how you try to get people to look at one thing while you do another.  I’m not completely convinced about how much she understood, but she decided to take the fun and create her own magic tricks. 

It all started with her making her stuffed animals disappear.  She would create a diversion, usually waving one hand while using the other to throw the animal behind the sofa.  My husband and I enjoyed many giggles watching her perform, and it was truly amazing to see her brain working.  It was a great way to spend a boring, rainy afternoon, building memories that I know I will have forever.  I believe every parent should have a few tricks up their sleeves, figuratively, and in this case literally.  I saved the day with a card trick.

-Stephanie Wright