The Wild Things

Childhood imagination is something I both envy and adore.  Life's questions get much more difficult as we grow older, but that doesn't mean we should stop asking them.  My nephew Parker loves to ask the "why" question.  He says it like this: "But, whyyy?" pronouncing the 'why' using two syllables and with a very sincere look on his face.  (It's really cute.)  I believe most people are born with a very large imagination that is limited by growing up and, perhaps, some other things which I've written about previously (see here).  

Another thing that dwindles with age is the acceptance of being a little wild.  When I was a Senior in high school, I was involved in a mother/daughter charity group with about 30 other girls.  For some reason, this organization believed that the proper way to recognize a high school Senior for six years of service was by walking her down a runway in an all-white ball gown in front of hundreds of onlookers at the Beverly Wilshire.  Quite an affair, indeed.  In preparation for this big event, our class was asked to choose a theme song to represent our class.  We had already chosen the theme, "Imagine" and to go along with it, we collectively and anonymously voted on the song "Born To Be Wild" by Steppenwolf.  

It got vetoed (by our mothers I think), and I can't even remember the song we ended up using.  I guess the point here is that it's OK to be wild and it's OK to imagine and ask questions.  And I'm not exactly sure why this privilege lessens with age.  Childlike curiosity is a great thing.

"Where The Wild Things Are" the movie isn't in theaters until October 16, but already I'm excited for it.  The trailer inspires me to look back into my childhood brain and remember what it was like to dream up adventures.  Everyday.  Backyard adventures, front yard adventures, closet adventures.  It seems that kids can dream up the most exciting adventures no matter how simple their surroundings or dismal their circumstances.  Some say life gets more difficult as we grow older, but why?  Because we want more?  

Maybe I just have a thing for movies that combine anthemic music with artistic images, but I recommend taking two minutes to watch this trailer.  And be a little wild.