The Kid in Me

When I think of my childhood, I think of being carefree. I think of no burdens and big dreams. The one thing that I enjoyed as a little girl, beyond everything else was playing make believe. I lived in a near constant state of make believe. No joke. When I didn't have friends around to pretend with, I "pretended" by myself.

I can remember having friends over as a small child. We'd pretend to be butterflies, teachers, and reporters. Once, in around second grade, one of my friends and I dressed up as old women and got sticks and walked along the road with crooked backs. We thought that was awesome. Another time, another friend and I mixed up every beauty product we could find and went door to door pretending to be beauty product saleswomen. I never could figure out why our products weren't a hit! We would pretend to be lost and wonder around as if we were afraid. We would climb trees and pretend to live in them. In preschool, my friends and I really did believe we could dig to China...but that recess bell always got in the way!!



When I pretended by myself, I'd make up toothpaste commercials in my vanity mirror in my bedroom. I'd practice my British accent. I'd make up dance routines to every ZZ Top and Madonna album my mom and step dad owned. Then I'd go and perform them on the trampoline for all of the neighborhood to watch; So I thought anyway. I'd make Barbie rooms and houses out of shoeboxes and stay occupied for hours pretending.

When I got into Junior High, that really didn't change much. In fact, my friend Andrea and I (along with lots of others) would pretend we were in beauty pageants and talent shows. They were more like comedy hour. The goal was to be as goofy as possible.

(insert ultra high soprano-ish whispers)
"I want to spread love ALLLLL over the land in the form of flower seeds and puppies! That's what I'll do if I become Miss Universe!!"

As I got into high school, that still didn't change. My best friend Amber and I would take a video camera with us to Wal Mart and the mall and stop random people and ask them completely ridiculous questions while trying not to laugh. We made up talk shows, and dramas which we acted out with other friends. We watched them over and over again and still laughed no less. We would also find any random, hideous hat, scarf, and pair of sunglasses in
Wal Mart, and push a buggy around walking in an odd way. We would stop to ask people questions about where to find products and such, while we acted like this. Yes. We really did do that.

We would go through a drive through and ask how much it would cost for a burger without cheese. Then we would go on and on about how expensive that was. Then we'd ask how much the burger would cost with no meat. Once again we'd carry on about the price. We did that until we were down to a piece of lettuce, and then we would simply say, "I'll just take a free cup of water. Thanks." (Probably not the best manners. : /) We thought that was the most hilarious thing known to man.

My friend Susannah, who is now also my niece, had the same enjoyment. We had a blast doing these same sort of things when I moved to Louisiana. I remember one particular scenario that kept us laughing for hours.

She, was the bubble girl. The girl who had lived in solitude in a bubble for her entire life. She had finally been released into the world and was having serious issues coping with things like the wind and germs. I was her psychologist, talking her through these trials and also explaining to her what grass and leaves were.

We tried to get a few other friends to share in the humor of this "skit", but it just didn't have the same effect on them. Hmmmm. Oh well.



I have realized that this was one of the most super, and freeing things about being a child. It was so easy to switch away from reality in a flash and be in the world of make believe. Besides that, it was just fun!


Sometimes we as adults get so caught up in to-do lists and chores and finances, that we forget what was so wonderful about being a child. Even, we look at our children, and we don't realize what amazing things are going on in their precious minds. We have forgotten how incredible it was to live in the mindset of endless possibilities, a world of adventure, and dreams that have no limit. We have become cynical and hard and have lost a good bit of what is actually possible in our search for keeping life scheduled and balanced, clean and in order.


When we forget that child-like wonder, we find ourselves angry at broken dishes...that were attempts at finding a liquid that would not freeze. We begin unknowingly shooting down dreams to save ourselves an extra mess. We stay so caught up, we never are able to stop and peer once again into the deep, deep depths of creativity and imagination that have become lost in laundry and spills.

The other day, Josiah decided he wanted to make a net to catch a bird with. He wanted take a piece of netting and put magnets around the edges. The goal was to hurl the net at a bird and when it cloaked over their head and body, the magnets would stick together and capture the bird. Voila. Instant addition to the Reed zoo.

He worked on his net for well over an hour. He gave it a few practice hurls at my fist and a rock I practiced throwing into the air for him. He soon realized what I could have told him an hour earlier...the net just couldn't fly through the air fast enough to catch a bird. At least not without a harpoon or something shooting it.

I could have saved him that hour of work and planning by simply telling him that it probably wouldn't work. Why? He spent that hour planning and scheming what he might do if he did catch a bird, and how cool this would all be if it worked. He honestly wasn't sad that it didn't. He did figure out though, that he could catch a bee on the ground in it. That was cool enough in itself. That got new wheels spinning, and he'll come out with a new idea in a few days, I'm sure.

It's amazing how super I feel after a few minutes of playing with my kids. For instance, Isaac likes me to tuck a blanket into the top bunk mattress, where it will drape down like a tent over the bottom bunk where he sleeps sometimes. Now let me be honest, when he asks me to make this tent, it's usually after I'm beyond tired and ready to call it a day. The blanket falls at least four times before I figure out a "wadding" system to hold it in place. So I usually am reluctant to get moving on this bunk bed tent. But I'm always so glad when I do.


He likes me to pretend that I'm knocking on the door of his "house". At first he doesn't answer. Then I say, "Awww man! I guess no one's home!" He usually just giggles his scratchy voiced giggle, and says, "Come in!" So I say something silly like, "I'm selling booger pies. I heard you'd like to buy one!" (These things are just made up on the spot, so you never know how they'll end up.) Or, "I heard you were looking for a dancing partner! Let's boogie!" Nothing is more funny or mortifying for a six to eight year old boy than seeing his mom break it down while grabbing his arms and making him pretend he actually wants to join in the boogie fest.

It always ends in both of us laughing our heads off, and no doubt, a merry heart does good like a medicine. Tiredness and grouchiness melt away. It's true.


I'm realizing, just lately, that pretending and dreaming the impossible with my kids might be just as important as giving them good meals, love, and discipline. I think it's where they begin to believe their ideas are pretty great, and they should always give them a shot. It's where the both of you get to escape together to the land of imagination, the place where you always come out feeling a little less overwhelmed with work, and a little more carefree. Guaranteed.


These moments of pretend with my kids are the window into their very personality and inmost thoughts, that I as a parent get the privilege of peering into and enjoying blissfully alongside them. It's a grand performance of God's unique handiwork coming out in the vivid colors of my children's creativity. That is, if I'm not too busy being a structured, grouchy, realist with dishes to be done and schedules to keep. What a sad thing when I pass by such breathtaking views to accomplish what is of so little importance.



"Help me, Lord, to remember to be a child...believing, loving, and embracing unconditionally. Help me to raise my kids to know that dreams and adventures are without bounds in Your guiding hands. Help me to let go of what is not important, so I don't miss what is so very crucial."