Working my Imagination

Last night I got to play in Fort Maxwell for a good bit before a certain little girl had to honor her bedtime (no, not me- although here lately 8pm seems like a good time to snuggle under the covers). I was summoned in by the head honcho herself, and of course remembered to bring the bananas to feed the big and little gorillas that were living inside. Even Uncle Justin got to come in and play for a while (and was successful in convincing Bailey she needed a flashlight), but unfortunately once it was determined that she could not come and go freely out the front door of the fort because he was blocking it, Justin was then asked politely to vacate the premise.

On the way home from a nice night of food and fun with our friends, I was giggling to myself at how Nicole and I sat under that fort for at least an hour playing with Bailey and having girl talk. It was only when Nick announced "Uh, honey it's 8 o'clock" that we really even paid attention to what was going on outside our "walls". Sometimes, a lot of times, it's just the simplest things that relax us the most even when we don't realize it.

Now I want to make a fort with Justin in our living room. Maybe make some s'mores in the microwave to bring in, and of course he'd get to play with his flashlights (it's apparently an obsession I was not aware of until right before Christmas. And Nicole, we're totally getting Bailey one just for her fort). I want to throw up a tent in the backyard this summer and spend the night just talking and snuggling in sleeping bags. We've wanted to go camping the past two summers and just haven't had a chance, so I figure even if we're only 50 feet from the house, it's still a tent and still sleeping under the stars. I want Justin to come home with me one Saturday this summer and us play barefoot in one of the creeks around my house. Watch the minnows as they peck at our ankles and jump when we (okay, I) see the crawdads scurrying away from our feet. I also want to just simply spend more nights sitting on our small front porch with our feet propped up, talking about the day, the future, the funny things we've seen or heard lately. It's those simple things that I miss after a good long while away from home, my country home. The one where when the sun is shining and the weather is warm, I roll down the windows and turn off the radio as soon as I hit the exit ramp because I want to smell the trees, the grass, the hay and I want to hear the sounds that only the country can make.

Hopefully I'll get invited back to Fort Maxwell soon. I promise I'll bring more bananas :)