Today was a surprising day. I had difficulty getting up this morning after being sick for 2 days. Somehow my memory has taken a back seat to everything else. I am not sure how things started the way the did, but I do remember how they ended up.

Kelly and I decided we needed to go shopping at 3am. He works nights so it is easy for him to be up then. Me on the other hand, its hard for me to be up any time. I am usually tired all the time since I sleep in 3-4 hour increments. That, I suppose, is why my memory has slumped over the past 2 years. So the shopping trip was nothing different than going in the day time, just fewer shoppers.

At Walmart, we stroll down the clearance aisle hoping to find something we could use, but we came up empty. So we strolled down a couple of other aisles just talking and trying to decide if we should buy certain items. As we were walking and talking, Kelly stops me, looks in my eyes and tells me "I love you. You are my best friend and I am thankful every day that I married you." I was shocked and I felt my heart burst with love for my wonderful husband and tears begin to well up in my eyes. Hearing the one you love say wonderful things to you is something to cherish and remember for the rest of your life. Feeling like I was floating, I started walking again when I realized where we were at. Turning to my dear Husband I said "What do you want?" See, we were standing in the electronics section. I now knew why Kelly was being so wonderful.

It's not that my husband doesn't love me. He really did mean all those things he said. But he has an addiction to bigger, better electronics. Things he thinks are more up to date than what we already have. Granted, the item he wanted was something he needed, so it was worth it.

My memory is good enough that I will remember the things he said. But sadly, its not good enough to remember why he said them. Is that a good thing?

Just My Imagination

When I was a little girl, my siblings and I used to wander through the woods. We would roll down hills that were covered in ferns and so much greenery that it felt as though green was the only color that existed. Playing outside was the most exciting time for us. We had nature and each other to entertain ourselves.

One of the games we used to play was the lava monster. There were barrels out by the chicken coop and we put boards down to cross between them so we couldn't touch the ground. The game was about staying away from the lava or the monster would get you. We would play until the sun started falling from the sky or until Mom called us for dinner. She would ask how our day was and with our imaginations running wild we would tell her of the monster in the back yard. Mom was good for laughing and letting our imaginations be free.

As children we trust our parents to know whats best. But I feel like as parents, we have fallen short of the task. Our need to have more has taken away our innermost child. As we grow up and become adults we often forget what fun children can have if we just guide them to use your God given imaginations. Parents, or even Aunts and Uncles work so much that they don't have time to spend with the ones who hold our future.

I am a firm believer that if you have children in your lives you need to help them improve their minds. Help them use their imaginations. From imagination come dreams. When we dream, we have hope. Hope then brings us love and understanding and the desire for a better future. Can you imagine if every child was allowed to dream? Our world would change. People would start creating a better future all because they dreamed; all because they used their imaginations.