Through working with children every day, I have realized something: children have so much creativity and imagination, but adults tend to be more focused on what is real.

I admire the kids who can be staring at a picture of a family and have a full blown conversation with one of the faces staring back. I admire the kids who can draw a small picture and create a story from it. The kids who are so proud of what an adult would call scribbles on a paper.

As an after school care worker, if a child gives me his or her hard work, you better believe I am keeping that. How could I just throw it away? This child spent their time doing it, so who am I to muffle that belief?

I think we all grow up entirely too fast. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, let me tell you a story about my family. To give some background, the men in my family (starting with my grandfather) are all pranksters and jokers. But this is actually about the women.

Several years ago, my family (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc) attended a dinner hosted by one of my uncle's churches. Although I don't remember the specifics, the theme went along with the 50s, like the writing hearts with couples initials in them on tablecloths, or those 'Oldie but Goodie' songs and such. And growing up in a family with eight children, my aunts and uncles loved to have fun. The ladies started drawing the hearts with their initials followed by their significant other while we were waiting for dinner. Now comes the important part. Throughout the dinner, my family asked for some straws repeatedly (mind you there is probably like 15 or more of us). When they finally brought straws it ended with us getting about the equivalent of a whole box and a half of straws... For just us...

Well, obviously, my grandmother isn't wasteful, so she needed to find something to do with all of these straws. As the educated woman she is, she knew exactly what must be done. She started casually unwrapping each straw. As each straw was unwrapped, a different family member felt the slight touch of a small, wet ball of paper. At first they looked at my grandfather who was probably contemplating what dressing he wanted for his salad, but alas, they were not looking at the correct person. I mean, what fun would it be for my grandmother to just throw the wrappers away? Eventually she ran out of ammunition. But she still had all these straws! Don't worry, she solved that problem too. Soon, other guests of the dinner at tables near to ours got to meet my dear grandmother, not in the traditional sense of her standing up and walking over, because why would she need to? By this point, you may have figured out that she has linked all of the straws together to basically make the longest straw in the world. Can you imagine the shock of all those people? Soon the dinner came and the fun came to a halt. Temporarily.

With a theme like the 50s, you can't have an event without music, and with music should typically come dancing. Naturally, the women in my family were the first to start. Without caring about the opinions of anyone else, they danced like they have never danced before. Heads started turning and smiles started widening. By the end of the night, my family seemed to be having the most fun of anyone there. People of all ages came by the table as they left to complement the dancing or thank us for reminding them that you're only as old as you feel. They laughed with us as my grandmother had reminded them of their parents or grandparents and it was one of the best memories ever.

As my family has gotten older, some have moved further away but we never stop enjoying life. Although spit wads haven't been shot and not as much dancing has been done, we always create the fun when we are together.

So, why do so many people leave their fun, creativity and imagination in elementary school? We should all be finding ways to keep our lives interesting. Who knows, it may spark new interests. Children can change the world. Can we as adults? I truly believe creativity and imagination is the key.

We should be reflecting on how great a child's drawing is or how much fun they can have in their made up games. Let's try not to grow up too fast, shall we?

I challenge you to bring out the child in you.

Tag. You're it.