A Trip Down Memory Lane

Like many people, my childhood was filled with fanciful stories. One of my favorites has always been The NeverEnding Story. While I don't remember having the book read to me, I remember watching the movie quite clearly, especially jumping when the windows bang open. During my trip home, my mom borrowed the movie through NetFlix and we watched it last night. While I no longer had the fear/tension watching the movie, it was great fun to watch. I still want to ride a luckdragon.

Another nice thing about being home is that I now have access to many of the books that made up my childhood library. A rare treat for me was being able to read from the illustrated children's bible my mom kept in a safe place. We also had at least two big books of nursery rhymes, Hans Christian Andersen's and Grimm's fairy tales, and Aesop's fables. My brother and I would spend hours reading these and other books and playing out many of the stories.

We also made up stories. For a long time, my parents slept on two twin beds pushed together. Whenever we played on their bed, the two beds would start to move apart. We used to pretend that it was a bed monster, trying to swallow us up. The huge yard around our house became the battlefield of many an epic battle, sometimes even involving the Greco-Roman gods. And my brother would spend hours at the library, researching medieval weapons.

I think it's incredibly important that we encourage curiosity and imagination not only in children but in adults as well. It's why even though I didn't play, I loved hosting my husband's D&D games and before that, I would sit and listen to them for hours. When I found myself no longer creating stories in my mind, I started playing. I think my mind needs the escape and the mental exercise it gets from creating these stories. I just need to find the confidence to tell others what my mind creates.