agradecido.

Speaking of imaginary worlds, this is one of my favorites, which is not so imaginary thanks to Universal Studios in Orlando. 

Maybe one day I'll make it out there to see it for myself!

Today I am thankful for playing.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to get to play with kids every day! Playing, imagining and make-believing makes the world come alive in ways that we forget in our adult years. Playing is beyond just doing something for fun or entertainment; in that moment it’s everything in a child’s world and it’s pure joy. I love to see Laurel (who is now coming up to 2 ½) as she “play games” with me and something as simple as playing catch with a teddy bear brings her immense happiness. Her joy and happiness is uninhibited and you can just tell by her smile that she’s having the best time of her life! The funny thing is 3 minutes later you can be doing something else and she’ll still have that same sense of amazement and excitement despite how simple the activity may seem.

Last night she climbed on my back and started patting me with intention and thought. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was making me taller. We played like this for a while longer and then again today and the whole time she is just happy as a clam. To have the ability to create a world where you can make people taller by (this was her method…) putting food on their limbs, patting it down and then wiping off the “dirties” is truly a gift in my adult world of worry and obligations!

So often my mind is occupied by more things than it can keep track of, many of which involve problem solving and stress management. Taking time to just simply play and watching someone else have complete and unhindered fun, is a momentary escape from our complex and sometimes overwhelming adult world. I love hearing about kids’ imaginary worlds and the amazing and simple way of seeing the world. For example, the time when I asked preschoolers what a bubble looks like and one responded, completely seriously, with, “it looks like underwear”. Then his peer spoke up and says it actually looks like a magical wall that when you pass through it you enter a magical world and turn into magical animals and monsters. Whoa! I want to live in a world where I can see underwear and magical worlds in a bubble (p.s. kids the right answer was iridescent and transparent but, hey, I guess it could look like underwear…right?)

Oh to engage this world as a child and just simply play.