Just My Imagination

When I was in high school, I wrote a paper for a Creative Writing class based on the classic song by The Temptations, “It Was Just My Imagination”. At the time, I was fascinated by the thought that our own imagination can be one of our greatest sources of inspiration. I was reminded of this after recently reading a blogpost, “What’s My Story, What’sYours?” by Stephanie Tolan on her blog, The Deep End.

These words were most inspiring from Stephanie as she expressed her hope for her blog, “The story told here will be one of possibility, of hope, and of radical trust that the children we are doing our best to support have what they need not just to survive as individuals, but to venture out to the edge of the web we’re all connected to and take us beyond our current expectations.”

It made me reflect on my own role as parent and advocate. And then the flood of questions came to mind … “What will be my children’s moral inheritance from me?” “How can I inspire them to envision a brighter future?” “How does one nurture a feeling of hope?”

And then … *poof* … twenty minutes later, I realized that my imagination had been running away with me. A trip down memory lane was serving to provide me with inspiration for this blogpost.

As parents, we do the best we can to raise our children as best we know. It is only years later through ‘experiential learning’ … as they like to say in college brochures … that we begin to second guess ourselves. What ‘coulda, whoulda, shoulda’ I have done differently had I known then what I know now?

Well, here’s the deal; you didn’t know then what you know now! Nobody does. The important thing to remember is that regardless of where you are on life’s journey, you can always attempt to make things better.

Talk to your children about their hopes and dreams. It doesn’t matter if they are 10 or 20 or 30 years old. Remember, asynchronous development can often play to your advantage as the parent of a gifted child. Share your dreams and hopes with them. They need to hear this from you. Too often, we get caught up in the day-to-day grind of ‘making a living’ or our own ‘joie de vivre’ and forget the importance of simply talking to our children.

So, take some time to engage your children in conversation whether at the dinner table or over a cup of coffee at a local café. Don’t know what to say? Let your imagination run away with you …