Friday, March 16, 2012

A child's imagination






Imagination is another wonder of childhood. As adults we know there is never enough time to indulge in this amazing gift we all have. But children inherently have plenty of this, and are gratified by their own make-believe activities than by the adult-made fantasies they are offered on the ever increasing list of 'plug-in' culprits.

The mini city that has taken over our living room is an example of this creativity. It all started with a child's-best-toy, a box. Then, three characters made a staggered appearance. First came 'bunny-bun' (a small plastic bunny we found buried in the mulch at the park), then came 'ducky-duck' (a tiny rubber ducky I got on a Virgin Atlantic flight) and 'horsy-horse' (a reward for walking to school). The city grew with the help of man's waste mostly cardboard and paper to include a mall with a pencil shavings pool, an emergency shelter (also with a pool), many toilets, and a park. I have been amazed by the amount of creativity and playtime it has generated.
So once again I sit back and marvel at her inner resource. And hope that it will always be her rock. Needless to say, I want to reclaim the living room, so we have had conversations about moving the city out-doors for the spring and summer.