No stretch of the imagination...

"Hey, you spread your blanket out on the floor and that'll be our dance floor. Let's get our leotards on and we can be famous dancers. First one done changing puts the Footloose tape in the player!"

Where did all the magic and wonder and make-believe go?

When we were younger, we were never bored. There was so much to do! And if there wasn't anything... we could make it up! Mom probably wasn't too happy to see the contents of her pantry splayed across the coffee table, nor her adding machine getting some extra use, but, man, was it fun to play grocery store! We'd spend a great deal of time drawing up fake money and setting up the "shelves" of the grocery store just so. Honestly, I think we'd spend more time setting up than actually playing, but somehow that didn't matter to us.

Just like when we'd play library. It must have been hours we spent making our book collection into a library with gads of colored construction paper and some tape. Each book had a check-out slip and a carefully constructed pocket in which to store it. The librarian's desk would be set up and the books taken out. Two of us would browse the shelves while the third sat quietly behind the desk, playing such an astute librarian. After selecting our books, we'd go through the careful process of checking out our library books, the librarian taking note of what book, who was borrowing, and making sure the due date was clearly marked in the proper place. Then we'd sit and read, the game forgotten. But that didn't matter.

We built castles, put on plays, became superheroes and brave knights, went singin' in the rain when there wasn't a cloud in sight... there wasn't anything we couldn't do.

We're still the same people, right? Just grown-up versions of our kid selves. So... where did it go? What happened to the secret agents and the contractors and the settlers building forts? What happened to the ability to see that water, berries, leaves and dirt all slopped in a bucket was a magic potion? Because, clearly, how else are you going to poison the evil witch?

It's a shame, this "growing up" thing. Your sense of invincibility morphs into a fear of heights. Your supreme acting abilities turns into stage fright and a fear of public speaking. Your talent for fashion shows and make-up turn into a constant struggle for popularity. Your sense of adventure gets traded in for the sensible path to success.

But it's worth it, right?