Pirate ship… Pirate ship.. Where is our treasure? Pirate ship….Pirate ship. We’ve scaled the seas and searched the shores, looking for something so much more. Pirate ship.

Sweet boy, you are the treasure. Anderson and I made up the lyrics above, our first song together, sitting on the bed in the guest bedroom downstairs. He strummed his ninja turtle guitar, and I sang the song. It’s a moment I will never forget.

Anderson will be 3 in September, and his imagination is everything I love about a good children’s book like Bridge to Terabithia or a movie like Hook; you know the one where Robin Williams plays the adult Peter Pan who has forgotten his childhood and that he once defeated Captain Hook. I think as adults we all suffer from this type of tragedy. We get so busy… paying bills, washing clothes, routines, etc. We forget that once upon a time we fought monsters, rode on pirate ships, and hunted treasure. Pillows and blankets were forts, and boxes were mansions.

If we are blessed enough to be given the gift of children, we are able to step back in time. It’s as if a portal opens when your child begins to laugh, plays pretend, hands you a plastic gun, and beckons you with the sweetest invitation, “Mom, come on! There’s a monster!” It’s up to you if you choose to step into this moment to defeat the monsters or simply ignore the opening to another world. There are sometimes I am so tired. I just want to hand Anderson my phone and plant myself on the couch but this past weekend, something inside of me said, “Be intentional.” Be intentional with your time- the greatest gift you can give your child. I also thought about my oldest. I sometimes think I take advantage of him being able to entertain himself. I need to make sure that we spend time doing things he enjoys and get him off his iPad or away from YouTube.

With the choice of being intentional with my time with my children, I’ve been given a gift, the gift of experiencing another childhood but through the sweetest eyes, the eyes of my children. I’ve killed a bunch of monsters I never knew existed in my house. I saved a bunch of trees like a fireman outside. I’ve been Hulk, and I’ve been Ironman. I’ve shot basketball and played board games.

Through the world’s view, we keep looking for what we think is “treasure”, but if we stop for just a moment and spend time with our children, we find the real treasure.

“Even though you want to try to, never grow up.” -Peter Pan