"If you are a dreamer, come in"

Invitation by Shel Silverstein


"If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!"

I spent the afternoon today playing games with the girl I am lucky enough to babysit. In reality, watching her is like a playdate with a younger version of myself, only cooler. She makes me smile and laugh and says the most ridiculous things imaginable about tornadoes and monkeys and.... Well, everything.

Today we played the "guess the poem's name" game. We took turns reading a poem (from "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein, of course) aloud and then quizzing each other on their names. It was wonderfully fun, and some of our guesses were so bizarre (mine mostly) that it was lucky we were sitting on yoga mats-- we were rolling on the floor laughing in a matter of minutes. It was such pure, simple fun that I began to wonder how people watch TV or play video games- the outdoor world is so amazing, and a book can take you anywhere in the universe.

People as a society don't dream nearly enough, and we certainly don't look with curiosity to find where the sidewalk ends.

So dream. Explore. Discover. Find the name of the poem, or make one up of your own!


"If you are a dreamer, come in"