If you know me you know that I have one son and two daughters. I now have three grandsons and are expecting another grandchild in November. Each of these six people have distinct personalities. Two of them come to mind when I really look at the little guy in the garden statue. Josh's imagination when he was young was incredible. He had some of the best imaginary friends, they may have had strange names, but they were dedicated. They were there each day as he played with his toys and they were ever faithful to him. These friends made for interesting conversation among the rest of us. We all enjoyed the many tales of Josh and his friends that he would describe in detail. I only wish now that I had recorded him telling those whimsical anecdotes, or at least written down the details. I look at the man Josh has and is becoming and I see even back then the creativity of his mind was developing at an amazing pace.
Now that Josh's imaginary friends have grown up and moved on (at least as far as I know) I so enjoy watching Kale's imagination go to work. He is fun to just sit back and watch as he creates his own world that corresponds with the one we live in but seems so much fuller of life. He can entertain himself for long periods of time just playing with not much other than his own imagination. When I get the opportunity to watch any child using their mind in this way it makes me smile. It warms my heart because I hope that the child will grow up, like Josh has, with the ability to continue to use that mind in creative ways.
I think all kids have some imaginary friends, some just develop them more than others. It is my hope that everyone takes the time to remember one or two of those places in our childhood when times were simple and we were able to just relax. I hope that this week everyone takes the time to reconnect with one or two friends that help you remember those simpler times. Childhood is so wasted on the youth because when we are young we really don't know how good we have it.
Although in life, sometimes those that should be important to us turn out to be people that we may have been better off never knowing, but they still help form us into the person we eventually become. As we go through life the people in it change, some of those that were so important to us as kids, like our grandparents, pass and we are almost forced to find new important people. Be grateful for those that are there for you, lean on them when you need to and be their leaning post when they need you.
Let your imagination run free - maybe check in with a couple of those imaginary friends that helped you get through life, but more importantly keep in contact with those real ones that continue to be the wind beneath your wings and when given the opportunity, be the wind for someone else.
