Day Fifty-Two

"I believe in the imagination. What I cannot see is infinitely more important than what I can see.". **Duane Michals**

To some it may just be stacks of blocks, but when Dominic told the story of this castle and took me on a tour, I was brought into the world of his imagination. It is, in fact, a castle complete with three fireplaces, four bedrooms, a watch tower, and a special place to park the bus for "the visitors". There's an indoor pool that connects underground to the river that's just out the bedroom window. The swimming pool is heated...somehow. The garden out back is full of all the vegetables that he likes. And no tomatoes. Every block was placed with care.

One of the things I love most about homeschooling is being with my kids for these simple things; watching them build castles, eating lunch together, going for walks on sunny afternoons, and listening to their silly "made up stories" as we sit around the table or are flopped down on the living room floor. "Made up stories" in our house mean stories that you don't read from books. The boys love it when I tell them an original, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants story. Usually I ask them to suggest some characters for me. Today it was a story about a whale, an anglerfish, a lion, and a seagull. I'll spare you the details, but the boys loved it.

I love being here for their greatest works. And that also means being here for their worst moments. But, we share a lot of life. And I wouldn't trade that for anything right now.