Have a life filled with wonder.

Have a life filled with wonder.

It is so easy to fall into a rut.  I get up, get the kids ready for school, drop them off, pick them up, eat lunch, put the kids down for nap, try to do homework, go to work or school, attempt to spend time with my wife, maybe watch a show, and then get a little sleep so that I can repeat it all again the next day. The weekend comes and I attempt to relax.  Rinse; lather; repeat. Before you know it it’s a week later and the to do boxes are mostly checked and everything starts over.

I had a dream the other day that I had turned into a kid again.  In the dream I played and imagined.  I looked at the world and was filled with curiosity.  I didn’t know why flipping a switch turned on the lights, and it didn’t bother me.  I didn’t care about bills, car repairs, or what was happening on Facebook.  The biggest concern was whether or not we had any Totino’s Pizza for lunch.  As the saying goes, the world was my oyster.

Levi building a repair station.

When I woke I took a look at my kids.  Mia imagined fantastic scenes with her dolls.  She created stories filled with dragons (portrayed by monster trucks), princesses, and heroes.  Levi could build anything his mind could think of out of blocks and Seth would joyfully wreck it all.  Their playtime was filled with imagination and wonder.

“You must be a wizard!” Levi exclaimed! “How did you do that dad?” Mia asked as we pulled away from the stoplight.  We had reached a part of the morning where the conversation had slowed and we were casually listening to the radio.  I’ve always tried to be observant of my surroundings and when I would be at a stoplight I would watch the other signals so that I could predict when my light would turn green.  This morning, after remembering my dream, I decided to try to inspire some wonder.  When the light was about to turn green I yelled “AND GREEN!” and flailed out my arms as though shooting my will to the stoplight.  Within a second the light turned green and we continued on to school.  At the next stoplight the kids tried to make it change and we laughed and laughed.  It is now part of our regular commute.

When I was younger I spent a lot of time with my grandparents.  One day my grandpa decided to play a little trick on me.  We went into his room to lie down on his bed.  He told me that if I concentrated on the new fan above us, it would spin, so I stared at it intently.  Slowly this machine came to life.  Whoosh.  Whoosh. Whoosh.  I turned my head and exclaimed, “IT WORKED GRANDPA!” and the fan immediately stopped.  “You stopped concentrating, lets try it again.”  We spent an afternoon making the fan spin and it was wonderful.  I realize now that grandpa had installed a new remote control fan, but he filled that moment with such wonder that I will never forget it.

I tell you all these things because they have one common thread.  We all reveled in not knowing.  We embraced the impossible. These stories showcased instances where life was filled with a curious wonder.  We didn’t know why things were the way they were and that was great.  We enjoyed not knowing and it allowed our imagination to define our experiences.  We believed anything was possible. 

When our lives fall into ruts and everything feels so predictable, we must try to change our perspective and perhaps then we could add a little wonder to our lives.  Fellow fathers, the world will try to cause our kids to think like everyone else.  It will suck imagination out of them.  Eventually, they will stop believing in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and monsters, but I encourage all of us to inspire a little wonder in our children.  Amaze our kids with "magic fans" and "changing stoplights" and they will never forget the importance of imagination.

Stay safe out there,

D.A. Acevedo