The Dreamer

My son is a dreamer. It is very interesting and fun to watch my 2 ½ year old grow, not only physically, mentally, and socially, but also “imaginally”. Okay, I know that is not a word, but it does, however, best describe what I am to talk about.


Everyday at our house, we are treated to a theatrical show from I. as he, with perfect cadence, performs an excerpt from one of his many VeggieTales episodes. He will play all the parts of the scene. Though we can’t understand all of his words and sometimes struggle to recognize from what episode the particular scene is from, we enthusiastically enjoy the show. He performs it with passion and meaning up to and including hand gestures and eye rolls.

My son pretends and plays other things as well as performing. But as he does all of them, he does so with all of the feeling and emotion that it warrants. He observes, he recites, he plays, he imagines.

In fact, everything he does he does with all of his energy. Several people have used the word “spastic” when it comes to that energy. I prefer the term “excited” better. He gets excited and cannot contain himself. He hops and he runs and he likes to make loud noises. And all of this fits the personality of a dreamer. And I will let him dream.

I am a dreamer as well. All of my life I have, in some form or fashion, done the very same thing. The big difference, between my son and I, is his dreams can still come true. He has not yet known the reality of dreams being dampened or shot down or even crushed.

You see, in life, there are people who are very quick, and sometimes very willing, to explain with gusto why your dreams are foolish. And if people tell you that often enough, you begin to believe that your dreams are doomed even before they are attempted. And not soon after, you yourself will shoot your own dreams down before somebody else has the opportunity to do so.

And yet, dreamers can do little else but dream. So I still dream and hopefully I will let one dream live.

My son is a dreamer. And I will do everything I can to let him dream for as long as he chooses. Who knows, dreams sometimes do come true. “Imaginally” speaking.