Day 404
After a long day of Asher playing with the Goldens (and Uncle Jimmy), visiting with wonderful friends and playing on the trampoline, it was time to send the adults out for dinner and have bath time with Nanny. I know these nights of baths, books and snuggles are numbered, so I savor every single one!
During his bath, he had a few thoughts about imagination. "Hey, Nanny! It is so fun to make-believe! I know my toys are not real, but they are in my mind. Everything can be real if you use your imagination...toys, pictures, stuffies...EVERYTHING!" I sat in awe of the magic he could conjure up without even trying!
When had I lost the ability to pretend and play make-believe games? I know when my twins were two or three, and we would be playing and they would look at me like I was an uninvited visitor into their imaginative world. I would realize they could see through my attempts to join in their mystical world and retreat to watch them from outside the parameters of their enchanted play. It was enough to simply be in their presence...even though I had outgrown the ability to lose myself in make-believe.
I vaguely remember being in the elementary grades when I felt reality creeping in on my play. Dolls lost their ability to need me to rock them to sleep, teddy bears had a blank stare instead of meaningful eye contact and doll houses lost their allure. I do remember fighting against reality's cold grasp on my imaginary worlds, but my ability to slip into make-believe simply vanished.
There were always books to draw me back into other fantastical worlds, but those places were not of my own making. I could be an observer in Narnia, enjoy the mysteries of Trixie Beldon as an outsider and even come close to stepping into Middle Earth. Alas, I couldn't jump into fantasies like I did when I was a child...and even then, those worlds were of someone else's creation.
Then, I began to write books of my own. Once again, I found myself lost in the settings, characters and plots of my own imagination. After writing for an hour or so, I would come back to reality with reluctance and almost feel the need to shake my head and acknowledge my magical world was simply that...magical.
Tonight, after Asher donned his jammies, we headed out to the front porch with the Goldens to cozy up with some great books. As we read, I marveled in the realization that my young grandson could fall into the pages of a book with curiosity, empathy and true abandonment of reality. Each new book brought with it a new imaginary world. What a gift reading is to any age!
Although it may be too late to believe the sea creatures in the bathtub are alive and enjoying the water of a vast ocean, I can still read and write to continue to grasp make-believe worlds...even at my age! I plan to NEVER give that up!
