Imagination

Does anyone else think that imagination could have a lifespan?  Or is it just my brain has grown old and isn't as active as it used to be?

I remember when I was a kid and could turn any boring day into an exciting adventure.  I was creative and imaginative.  What I couldn't do in reality I could easily achieve in my head.  Mind you, I had a good go at achieving in reality most things I wanted to do, too.  I would fearlessly swing on a rope high in a tree and compete to see who could land the furthermost from the tree.  And in my imagination I would fly.  I'd play football and cricket in the back yard with my brothers and I'd be playing for Australia.  Being a girl didn't limit me.  Even when I grew a little older and was forbidden from playing football (to protect my lady bits as my father said) I was the best commentator, Pauline Lovejoy, better even than the legendary George Lovejoy.

Eventually, I put away my childish dreams and became a pragmatic realist but there was always a fairy tale or a story in my head waiting for a child to hear it.  I wrote poems for my children and grandchildren, little books of fantasy for each of my grand-children.

Now I want to do something special for my great-granddaughter and there's nothing there.  When I play with her I can't keep up with her "Let's pretend" games.  My imagination is slow and dull.

May your imagination and sense of adventure never fade.