Saturday, February 18, 2012

The Importance of Play

I was reminded this week of the importance of playing and remaining youthful throughout one's life.   I have been coordinating a library renovation project for the last year or so.   I worked with an interior designer to select furnishings for the building.   She found the most amazing pieces for the children's department from a company called TMC.   One of these pieces that we purchased was a puppet stage.   From the minute it arrived and was set up, adults, teens and children alike flocked to it.  One of our first groups of customers to play in it was a father and his three little ones.   Dad nipped behind the stage after getting the children settled on little stools in front of the stage.   For several magical minutes, he created a story for them using the puppets available.   They were mesmerized.   It gave me great delight to watch these interactions.  I've seen children who are strangers to one another band together to perform.   Even teens and tweens (when they think we're not watching) create plays for their friends.  Our desire to play is a strong one and there are few places where it can be nurtured and released in the most amazing ways.    I couldn't be happier that we've created one of them.

I'll leave you with a quotation that moves me:

Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.  A happiness weapon.  A beauty bomb.  And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one.  It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.  Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas.  And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight.  Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in.  With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest.  And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.  ~Robert Fulghum

2 comments:

Aimeslee Winans said...

What a great page and story. Are you finished with the renovation yet? I sure hope you are or will be soon. xoxo

creativelenna said...

I love the quote, Heather. Makes me want to cry, it is so smart! Thank you for sharing.