My kids have amazing imaginations.  I love seeing their minds work and I especially like it when they share it with me.  A few nights ago, Sayer and I had dinner out just the two of us and his Granny.  While we waited on Granny to arrive, we started talking about Star Wars.  It seems like that is all we talk about lately.  He's completely obsessed, absorbed and engaged in all things Star Wars. 

So, we are talking about Obi Wan Kenobi (had to go check the spelling on that one) and how in "A New Hope" (yes, he knows all the real names of the movies and not just the numbers) he gets in a battle with Darth Vader.  I say that Darth Vader "kills" him.  Sayer corrects me and says "No, he isn't killed, he gets made into a spirit".  Happy to hear him say it in that way I agree and say, "oh, that's right!".  So, the conversation moves on and he decides to "be" the spirit of Obi Wan and asks me who I want to "be".  So, now we are spirits and playing together.  I ask him if two spirits were to have a playdate, what would they do?  One adorable thing too is that he still can't say his R very well so it sounds like "Spiwits".  Anyway, back to the playdate...so he tells me that they "would walk back and forth through each other because they can because they are made of blue air".  Then they would play fight and if they got their hands just right they would move through each other too.  I ask him if spirits have snacks on their playdates.  He says, with a look up and a sigh, "yes, but they would just fall out of the back of their heads".  Then he goes on to say that they do, however, drink.  He says they can drink "water, juice, hot chocolate milk, hot strawberry milk, hot regular milk, red juice, apple juice and sprite and that it goes all down their body and through their intestines and out of their penis and becomes spirit pee". LOL!  It's just too much.  The missing piece to the story of course is the hand gestures and the facial expressions and the sound of his voice.  I just sit back in awe and in love. 

All this amazingness does have a downside though and I know you fellow parents know what I'm talking about.  It's when you're trying to pack up the car and get to the airport to leave from Colorado to get back to Houston and everyone is tired and sick and you find Finnian out playing in the snow with his car getting his clothes wet and dirty (and all the dry clothes are packed away).

The world is just so different for them.  It's all open and exciting and new.  It's irresistible and they are insatiable.  I try and imagine what it would be like to be them.  To have my mind filled with Obi Wan Kenobi, to relish in eating snow every chance that I could and to be so excited about tomorrow's offerings that when I look at the full night of sleep ahead of me I feel like crying because it is so very long.  I could never do it.  Their stamina is something I can't imagine having.

The trick then is to try and take a cue from them and find some place in between right?  For me that moment comes when they invite you into their silliness, their imagination, the crazy dreams, the role play, the bedtime stories and those priceless moments where they just want you to sit still and snuggle them.

Why is this all in my head?  Well, I am a lonely, lovesick Mommy.  My kids are away for 5 days enjoying a visit with their grandparents.  I love my time alone for sure and it is so nice to see yourself for a moment flying semi-solo but I do miss them so much.  So, because I can't, go give yours an extra snuggle.  I'll have to wait until Sunday for mine.  Happy weekend!