Imagination

Do you remember what it was like to be a kid?? I do. At the risk of totally embarrassing myself I remember being about 5 or 6 years old and talking to the tree in our backyard. To me he was alive and at night he would walk around (long before I was familiar with Lord of the Rings). When I would be sent to my room to tidy it up I would pretend that I was a Queen and my kingdom was invaded and the only way my people in my kingdom would be safe was if I could get the room tidied to my captures standards.

When I was a child we would head outside with our parents telling us to be home when the street lights came on. We did not have TVs in our rooms. I can remember renting a VCR with the movies!! There were no Networks that played 24 hour a day ‘kid shows.’ No video games, unless you count the pac man game that you put your precious quarter into. Of course, there were no iphones, ipods, or anything like that.

I got to pick one activity, did I want to take ballet or soccer. We weren’t heavily scheduled we had time to play. We had time to daydream and imagine.

Fast forward several years, and my kids may not look much like kids of today as their lives resemble my childhood more than they do the kids of today. With the exception that I don’t send them out until the streetlights come on. Mostly because we live in the country and the kids come in when the mosquitoes start biting.

Daily I am entertained by there ‘imaginings’.

Joel and Joshua are playing the 2 Musketeers!

They were collecting ‘hay’ for their horses, Joel informs me almost daily that our little piece of land needs a horse!!

The girls joined in I think they are two young maidens, perhaps the game morphed and the boys were helping 2 damsels in distress get their hay done.

We try and offer the kids lots of free time to get out and play, dream and imagine. You can fly, save the world, go to China, and then act out scenes from the latest book we’re reading… all in the safety of your own back yard!

I’d love to hear what you do to ignite the little (BIG) imaginations in your house.

Okay I have to through this in, if you didn’t know our story, doesn’t Joel look like any other 5 year old!!

If you take off his hat you’ll see that his hair is falling out for the 4th time and when he walks you can see his gait is off, but in these pictures he looks so good. And you know he IS like any other 5 year old!!!