I had just cleaned up the living room today...for the 13th time. I put away Legos and half-built Star Wars inspired flying trucks and trailers, put the dozen markers away that were squeezed between the couch cushions and dusted and straightened and then finally lit a carmel scented candle. *sigh* I went to the office. I logged on to Gmail and checked my email.
Three minutes later I walked back into the living room. It had to of been only 3 minutes! The pillows and cushions were off the couches, books were off the shelves and blankets were strategically spread out on the floor. On top of those blankets two little faces peered at me wrapped in sheets. Laina and Jonathan!
“We are playing that this room is a river,” said Laina cheerfully.
“Yeah,” said Jonathan with a silly grin, “and this is our waft."
“Guys,” I said, “I just got done cleaning this room! Why do you even have the pillows off the couches?!"
“They’re the wocks,” Jonathan said; as if to say, hello, this is a river, what else would pillows be?
I looked at them. Their bright little eyes blinked back.
Fortunately, if it hadn’t been for their adorable happy faces, I probably would have become very difficult.
“So, what’s in this river?” I asked, not really caring. “Are there water snakes?”
Jonathan looked perturbed, as he lay there in his blankets, floating on his make-believe raft. “Wator snakes? Awre dey weal?”
“Yep.” I said.
“Well,” he said emphatically, “our rivor doesn’t have dem."
“Well, what does it have?”
Laina piped up, “It has these adorable little Nemo fish!”
And that’s when I decided I wanted my own river.
These little kids had created their own safe little world full of orange clown fish-- and I wanted one too! I want a world where everything is made from chocolate, and everything is free and where clocks are the thing of the past, where tears that slide off your face transform into silver roses-- where I can travel the earth in a big balloon and write poetry with the stars.
You know you want one too.
