The Power of Imagination

The last 72 hours have been rough. I feel and look like Donald Duck on my CODK certificate on my wall. I haven't slept in two days. Work has been busy with both jobs. The laundry is never ending. So many tears have been shed over schoolwork in the last 48 hours and I'm pretty sure I have an ear infection. I don't like coffee and the ice water isn't working anymore to keep me functioning. My tank is on empty and I'm slowly physically crashing.

And then I hear it...

Downstairs, my Dad and the girls are playing "travel". This is a new game that I've never heard of before. Kyli is the gate agent. Pappy is the passenger. She asks for his ticket. Beep. She scanned his ticket with her scanner from her play cash register. I hear Kalysta ask him if he would like some water and a snack. Ahhh...they're on Southwest. Then, Kyli announces, "Attention Passengers! This is first class. I repeat. This is first class!" I take my previous assumption back. They must be flying Delta. Dad declines the water and asks for coffee. Kalysta runs to her playroom and I hear her moving around her play food. I'm assuming she's searching for her favorite plastic purple teacup to pour his coffee in.

I have now moved from my office to standing in the hallway. I am spying on this game.

I'm hooked. I'm committed. I'm all in.

The plane takes off. The pilot (also Kyli) gets on the loud speaker and says, "Attention passengers we are in the air. Sit back and relax. We will be at our destination shortly."

The plane lands in Ohio. Kyli then announces there's another flight.

Where to? Why, Disney World of course.

They board the next flight. Same conversation all over again. This time Kalysta doesn't ask Pappy if he wants a beverage. No. This time, she brings him coffee right off the bat. She is a pro. I hear Kyli tell him to make sure his seatbelt is secure. Dad's response is "Is this Mommy's good ribbon?" She tells him that I gave it to her awhile ago to play with. I can't see them but I'm assuming he's putting it around his waist. This is fantastic.

Plot twist. Kyli tells Pappy that he needs to be the pilot on this flight. The previous pilot is apparently delayed on another flight. Dad gladly obliges. He announces. "Ladies and gentlemen this is going to be a bumpy flight." The girls start to giggle. I can only assume he's bouncing them around creating pretend turbulence on the plane. After a minute of belly laughter, the plane lands safely.

I know what's coming next. They're going to board Magical Express. Nope. I'm wrong. They're calling a car for him over their walkie talkies. Why a car you might ask?

Turns out Pappy is a "boss" for Disney. He gets on his cell phone when they get in the car. The girls are not amused at his fake conversation to no one on the other end of the pink plastic phone.

Kyli says, "Sir! Can you please get off the phone?"

I let a whisper gasp chuckle out. These girls are serious.

They have arrived at Disney. Dad is staying at Wilderness Lodge of course. They're off to Magic Kingdom next one would assume, right? Nope. Wrong again! As the plot thickens, they're off to Animal Kingdom. They walk in the gates. All I can hear is, "RAWR! RAWR!" Turns out, Kalysta is actually a lion in real life. They're now on Kilimanjaro Safaris from what I can tell.

Can we just stop for one minute and acknowledge how awesome this Disney trip is already? Up close and personal with a lion? Can you imagine? Talk about checking something HUGE off your bucket list. Sorry, I'll continue.

Fast forward to Pappy now pretending that he is on rides and the girls are laughing so hard. The laughter is that deep belly laugh. That laugh that makes everyone around you want to laugh with you. I start laughing in the hallway and cover my mouth in fear they may hear me spying from afar.

They're headed to their next park. They don't take a Disney bus. Why would they? They order a Minnie Van of course. I mean what else would a"boss" at Disney ride in?! They're even going behind the scenes to get to the next park! Star treatment.

Imagineers got nothing on my Dad at this point. He may as well be Walt Disney himself!

Dad asks them if they have their masks for the park.

Kalysta yells, "Thanks Pappy. I almost forgot!"

THIS is imagination at its finest. They're even factoring real life situations into their imaginative play.

I can only assume that that they are Magic Kingdom now. Yes. Finally I'm right.

They're boarding a log on Splash Mountain. Kyli is giving the safety rundown making sure to tell Kalysta and Dad that their hands, arms and legs are to remain inside the vehicle at all times. I have no idea what is happening now but all I can hear is loud laughter. Harder laughter than before. All three of them are laughing. They don't stop. They're cracking each other up at this point.

Meanwhile, I'm standing in the hallway with tears streaming down my face. Not funny tears but emotional happy tears because I realize that my Dad is their happiness. They absolutely love playing with him because he plays on their level. He goes all in and is fully immersed in this travel game and any pretending game they throw at him in general. Suddenly, I flashback and think, this was me and Ashley playing with my Pap Pap. My kids have my youth. They have those moments with him that I once had with my Pap. The ones I look back on now and am so thankful I got to live in life with him.

Dad retired to watch Kyli for me. So did my Mom. When Kalysta came, their circle was complete. They retired for these moments. Moments that we all might have missed had God not chosen this path for me and our family in general. I'm lucky. I'm not just a witness to the moments, but I live these moments and I cherish them so much.

"I wanna ride with you on this one," Kalysta says.

The phone rings and I head back to my office. When I hang up the phone this time, I'm not as tired. Instead my five minute break witnessing the girls play with their Grandfather from one floor up has motivated me to just keep going. I'm tired. There's homework waiting to be tackled tonight when I'm done with work and endless laundry for sure.

However, today I got to stop and hear my children BE CHILDREN. I'm thankful for that.

This is what our family is like at home behind closed doors. I wish I would've grabbed my phone and recorded it. Just to share with everyone how hilarious it truly was. But another part of me is glad that I didn't. I stopped and just relished in the happiness.

Everyone always says how magical our lives must be with my job being what it is. Trust me it is awesome. What most fail to acknowledge about my life is that the true MAGIC in my life happens right here in this home each and every day.

If I wasn't in the travel industry, the game "travel" might not be on their radar. They wouldn't have taken a pretend trip to Ohio or Disney, things that they do in real life throughout the year. Big picture to little picture, it all matters.

Disney trips matter. Beach vacations matter. Those little weekend trips to the next town over matter. The family game nights matter. All of those experiences matter. It all stores in their brain. Those moments and those memories allow them to create things in their imagination that will one day become big dreams.

Today, I witnessed the power of imagination. It was the one of the best performances I've ever witnessed and I didn't even have to pay admission. Don't wait for your life to start. It's happening now.

I'm thinking that during our next Disney trip , I'll take the girls to Blizzard Beach.

You might be asking yourself, "Why?"

Frankly, I'm curious to see how Dad will recreate Summit Plummet during his next game of "travel" with the girls!

#imagination #familymoments #memories #travel #themoanamom