Just Imagine

"Mom, what if every time it thundered, fireworks fell out of the sky?"
~ Sloane, age 6

Oh! Just imagine.

Sloane said that and a mini-movie began in my head. I saw scared, tear-smeared faces and tense little bodies. Noses were pressed to the window as the children nervously waited for the next boom to rattle the panes and scare them witless. The wait wasn't long, but instead of tears, the room filled with delighted giggles as the sky bloomed in flowers.

One sentence from a child and my mind is a whirl. After I emerged from my daydreams, I rushed to write down her words. I couldn't bear the thought of losing them.

Sloane's delightful comment started me thinking about imagination. I've always been pretty good at playing along and daydreaming with her. I happily join her for a game of Barbie. I dress and redress Josephina. I spend hours telling stories of the "Girl Scout Cookie Sleuths". We provide paints, paper, an easel, and endless craft supplies. We have family read aloud every day. Sloane is not seven yet and she's planning to go to school on Friday as Bilbo. (The assignment is to come as your favorite book character.) If we can't swing a believable Bilbo costume, she's informed me that Peter Pan is her second choice. Most nights, before she drifts off to sleep, we pick a place to meet in our dreams. Last night we met at the tippy-tip-top of the Space Mountain ride. Afterward we went to that place with the terrific cheese fries. "What if...?" is one of our favorite games.

I thought I had the imagination/ creativity portion of my mommy-job-description pretty well covered. We play. We read. We tell stories. We pretend. We craft. I try hard not be in too much of a rush to clean up the messes. Sloane takes gymnastics for her body and piano for her mind. I take this play thing pretty seriously, you see. In fact, one of my friends describes me as a party waiting to happen. I described myself here once as having a real talent for fun. And then...

Isn't it funny how our children teach us lessons without even trying?

In the months since Sloane invented her own kind of fireworks, I've been paying close attention to her imagination. Since I let Sloane take charge, life has been pretty exciting around here.


We have...

traveled inside a rainbow.

met the off-Broadway cast of The Little Red Hen.

been on a picnic with a panda. We ate Chinese food, of course.

kept company with a fairy.

gained a new fashion sense.

been to an art show with a tambourine-playing Star Kitty.

enjoyed many gourmet meals.

been to the beach several times.

Oh yes. Life is much more fun when you live in the Imagi Nation. What have you been imagining?

I took all these pictures in the past few months, except the first one. Sloane took that.