I was going through my regular morning routine the other day while watching my youngest who is 7 as she ate her breakfast which happened to be a bowl of oatmeal.
She was a great giant attacking oatmeal city and gobbling it up. She ate the museum and fire station, the mall and the bank, the park and town hall. She ate every last bite with gusto exclaiming over the terror of oatmeal cities citizens and having a grand old time.
From oatmeal city she went to get dressed while asking her assembled troupe of dolls, bears and stuffies if she should wear her pink tights with this dress or her purple ones with that one. After getting dressed she fought off a crocodile trying to eat her hair, the croc was her brush as she was brushing her hair. She then went to sit on the couch to put on her socks taking a few moments to make sock puppet friends.
Sent out to wait for the bus she zigged and zagged her way down the driveway becoming an airplane diving and climbing. She became a tightrope walker walking once she reached the ties at the end of the driveway even remembering to take a bow when she hopped off.
Then the bus came and off she went to school taking her games and imagination with her.
City destroying tendencies aside, I do love to watch her or any child’s imagination at play. I love to see the unabashed joy they have while playing such little games that require nothing more than what is at hand to play. Kids aren’t embarrassed to use their imagination to its fullest extent and I sometimes wish I could still play with such abandon and joy.
It sure would make life interesting if we all used a little bit more imagination in everything we do. I’m not talking about pretending to drive in the grand prix on the way to work which would be both dangerous and stupid, but in the silly little things.
When’s the last time you walked down the driveway as an airplane, or ate your breakfast as if you were a giant attacking a city? I doubt that you can recall a time you did so any better than I can.
I do think I still give my imagination a work out now and again but it’s not as strong as it once was. Like a muscle it has atrophied without use. I will still happily skip along with my youngest much to the consternation of my oldest. I use my imagination when I build something, when I plan out flower beds, when I imagine how to accomplish a task long before tackling it or when I write my blog.
Now these are things I do because I take joy from doing them and although they require imagination they don’t use the same type of imagination needed to play with a doll house, or talk to stuffed animals, or god forbid stomp around the grocery store like a monster.
Ok so that’s not likely to change, my dinosaur walk and gremlin laugh will stay safely within the confines of my own home but once in awhile they’ll come out to play with my kids and I’ll try to remember what a gift imagination really is.
