My father said to me when I was fourteen years old, “It is time for you to grow up and stop playing pretend!” I had been entertaining my younger siblings, with a grand adventure that took us beyond the four walls of our basement playroom. Mind you, my siblings were eight and six years old at the time. I loved playing pretend with them. To make up worlds and characters, that was the best!
Years later, I am still playing on my time away from work. I have encouraged my children to pursue their arts to the best of their ability. They are developing their own style, and I am happy for them. I support them with what they do.
As for me, this is what I do. My children seek the visual arts, they fill sketchbooks full of their doodles and whatever else they can dream up. I paint on my canvas with the written word. I put the movies in my head to the blank page. I am thankful for the fact that the depth of my imagination has served me well for so long.
When I gather with my friends, we tell stories with each other. Every two weeks, we meet and roll dice. Home brews, character development, weaving stories between all of us. When nights are cold and dark as they frequently are, we all fall back to that intial way to pass the time, telling stories around the fire.
Nowadays, it is less around the fire and more around the living room table. I am still playing, still playing pretend. I will never give up on that. Play is important. It builds social skills and bonds. It helps us deal with conflict. It allows us to come together and see different points of view.
I celebrate play. It is always necessary. Sure, we can’t do it all of the time, but we have to keep that sense of wonder. Allow ourselves to be free and allow ourselves to play and leave the doors open for creativity.
Lantern's Path Fantasy 
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