dream, play, explore and imagine

Every child is an artist.

The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.  

~ Pablo Picasso

 

 

Imagination is one of the single greatest gifts bestowed to us.  As Thoreau said, "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."  A vivid imagination can help to transcend one's reality and get you through the darkest moments in your life.  As a mom, I do all that I can to nurture my son's imagination. 

 

When I was little, I loved to daydream.  I could literally get lost in thought, staring out of a window or reading a thrilling book...even just riding my bike or playing Barbies.  Fortunately for my brothers and myself, our parents encouraged our imaginations and stressed the importance of creative play. 

 

Unfortunately being bombarded with media such as television, video games, iPods, and the computer, kids today aren't developing their imaginations...they're letting the media do their thinking for them.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-technology, but I think that as a society we're let our children become too reliant on it.  There's a lot to be said for introspective, quiet time. 

 

So with the importance that my husband and I place on childhood imaginings, we wanted to give our son a special place - all his own - to retreat to...to dream, play, explore and imagine. 

 

I'd always talked about building a playhouse, long before I became a parent.  Luckily my husband is not only extremely handy and creative, but he loves the challenge of a new project that my quirky imagination can dream up! 

 

So this past May, we put our heads together, drafted a design on a few sheets of paper (no formal plans for us!) and began the construction on a backyard playhouse.  It's been a long and fun process watching it come together from just a pile of wood, but now that it's nearly done comes the fun part of decorating and accessorizing it!

 

Here a few photos of the early days of construction...

 

I can't wait to show you how far it's come!  :)