imagine....

today i spent imagining with my boy.

we started with our favorite, telling a story together. 

imagining pirates and captures, avalanches and last-minute rescues in a helicopter.

the story went on and on as i folded laundry and packed box after box after box.

then we felt our tiny apartment becoming tinier, as each box crowded into more of our space

and imagined that we were secret spies hiding behind brown rectangles, 

needing to  escape before we were discovered.

so we gathered up this little gal

and went out to brave the heat.

out there we imagined that we were professional soccer players, 

competing against an opposing team

to beat them out in the final seconds of the championship.

right after the game, as we stopped to hydrate ourselves

i tried to imagine

that my lovely daughter

had not just stuck her hand in dog poop.

but as much as i tried,

nothing could imagine that away, as i washed the disgusting stuff off of her fingers

and tried to fight off the dry heave.

back inside again, we imagined that we were lost at sea

our dinner table the remains of our raft

the salad and chicken being served to starving raft-mates

enjoying every bite because we weren't sure if it would be our last. 

then the pajamas were his space suit

helping him zoom!

to the moon.

luckily the moon tonight provided

a soft pillow and warm blanket

and also amazingly came equipped with special moon water

and tools that clean teeth so they shine as bright as the stars in the sky.

and finally, 

we imagined that i was a fairy in the woods,

who flew around kissing the cheeks of the good boys and girls

and softly touching their eyelids,

so they would have the best dreams tonight.

************

once caleb was asleep,

i sat down

and tried to imagine

that my boy wasn't going to school in a couple of weeks

and that he would be like this always.

i tried to imagine away the tears that came to my eyes,

but then realized 

that the world is just as it should be

moving, evolving, changing, spinning sometimes faster than we would like.

my tears of sadness turned to tears of gratitude

to feel the love of this little boy,

and to have been part of his beautiful imagination today.