My Alphabet of Gratitude...Letter I is for Imagination

I love watching cartoons, one of my favorites was Muppet Babies. It was a cartoon all about using your imagination. You can go anywhere, be anything if you just know how to use it. It is a childlike quality that I am so thankful for. I love more than anything to talk with my children and do the what ifs. We end up laughing hilariously or thinking deeply, usually the former. I get a glimpse of it everyday when I watch Hannah play, she uses her imagination very well. I've eaten so many plastic dinners cooked in her little kitchen I've lost count. I've watched Zac slay invisible foes with his Power Ranger's sword or lightsaber. I've seen Dakotah fix many an imagined problem with his cool tools. These are very special memories to me. But it doesn't stop when we grow up does it? I for one believe it doesn't have to. I imagine things all the time. I appreciate all of the things in my life that I have because someone else imagined them first. Like this computer I am typing on, the stove I am cooking on, the bed my babies are sleeping in. People had to imagine these things before they could be made. I think of all the books I have read, all of the movies that I have seen. I think of all the medical equipment that just blends into the decor of my house. Someone imagined it, and now I get the benefit of using it. How incredible. I also use my imagination to paint the picture of a better tomorrow. I try to make today the best I possibly can but I'm always trying to learn ways to improve it. I have to imagine myself doing things before I can do them sometimes. Take cooking for instance. I love it, but before I started I had a vision of myself cooking fabulous dinners that my whole family would sit down and eat together and everybody would rant and rave about what a glorious cook I am...
I have very fond memories of using my imagination with my best friend, we had our children named, our house picked out, our husbands were named and so were our pets. Life didn't turn out exactly as we imagined, but we had an idea of where we were heading.
To this day I still love to watch cartoons with my children, I love to watch them even without my children! Cartoon have imagination written all over them, and it is fun. I also love anything science fiction. Another wonderful use of what ifs..... I still smile when I think of the Dr. Who marathon my son Zac and I had a few months ago. We were up until 4 in the morning because we just couldn't get enough! And then we talked and talked about all we had seen and heard, he gave his thoughts and I gave mine and it was awesome.
I imagine a day when there will be no more RCDP. When a family never has to bury a child again. When a mother never has to watch her child suffer. I imagine a day when people treat each other with kindness and empathy. I imagine a day when those of us who are different aren't shunned and ridiculed. I imagine a day when the lion lays down with the lamb and it helps me get through the difficult times. The times I simply want to give in and throw in the towel. I imagine my self carrying on, learning and growing and someday never having to cry in pain again.
Imagination is a beautiful thing. I am so very grateful for it and I use it each and everyday!!