KID IN PLAY

          What have we as adults accomplished in our 20, 30, 40, 50, years of life? We have learned how to walk properly, some of us to talk properly, take general care of ourselves, how to work, how to pay bills, how to drive, and how to put on a face that lets people know we are busy and don't want to talk. 

          Yesterday, we were in Perimeter mall letting the kids shop for a little while. I was sitting at lunch just watching people as they passed. Most were in a hurry obviously, it was lunch time. But I looked at their faces. None of them seemed happy, all of them NEEDED to go as fast as they could and not stop til they got there. 

          I realized something then, adults have forgotten how to play. All of the movies and stories about kids losing the magic and imagination of childhood once they grow up is true. In The Last Battle, Susan has "grown up" and no longer believes in Narnia but treats it as childhood games and made up stories. I hate this. From the bottom of my heart, I hate this. So, I did what anyone who feared they had grown up would do.

          There was an interactive display that projected onto the floor from the ceiling. The mat the projection was on was broken up into grids. When you stepped onto the display, your movements changed the projection, allowing you to basically control the display. And it was there that I just played for a little bit. Moving my arms and body to make the water ripple, or the flowers bloom, or the picture change. 

          Did I accomplish much? Not really. Did I prove a point? Probably not. 

          But I did show myself that I haven't quite grown up yet. 

          Some parents need to grow down. Get down in the floor with your child. They will learn more, I promise. Children are the greatest mimics and mirrors in this world. Showing them how to play and how to have fun will really help them, I promise.