IT'S TIME TO EXERCISE

My dad always told me imagination is like a muscle

and we have to find a way

to exercise it often or its strength will fade away.

He said imagination is like a movie inside your head

only you control the show.

You can do anything you want to do…go anywhere you want to go. 

Because, he said, if you look around at all of God’s creation

what sets us apart from the other animals…is our imagination.

And so he told me stories…of how he rode a dragon across the sky

of snowmen that would come alive…or whales that could fly.

Of how he would sit for hours as the wind played music in the trees

and of all the times he was invited…to go dancing with the bees.

He said he loved having scrambled eggs on a cloud for breakfast

pizza with the dolphins at noon

and a dinner of burger and fries…while sitting on the moon

He showed me how to touch the moon

He said it’s really not that far

and he told me how easy it is once you’re up there

to jump from star to star.

With Dad I never knew where real life ended

and where his imagination had begun…

and I wouldn’t change a thing about him because that was half the fun.

He’s been gone for many years now…

and I have him thank for helping me with my own aspirations 

with how I look upon the world…with my imagination…

Today I’m meeting him on the moon…

I’m bringing the burgers and fries…

because just like Daddy always said…

It is time to exercise.