Flights of Fancy

Olivia asked me one day if it’s weird that she sometimes imagines things different from how they are. She went on to explain that she sometimes imagines meeting her current favorite celebrity and being besties with her.

I told her that everyone does this. Then I amended that with, “Everyone with even a little imagination.”

It’s how those of us with an imagination get through the mundane parts of our lives, which, let’s be honest, is the majority of each and every day.

She likes to tell me all about the stories she’s concocting in her head. She calls them ‘fan fic’ because that’s a phrase she heard from Alyssa once upon a time. Even if there’s nothing in the stories about a celebrity, she still calls them fan fic. I don’t bother to correct her because who cares what she calls her flights of fancy?

She has this very vivid world going on in her head. She still has imaginary friends but they don’t visit as much as they once did. These days, they’re off living their best lives, imitating Melanie Martinez to the point of getting surgery and changing everything about themselves.

And that’s okay too because Olivia is able to live out any sort of wild fantasy through Mush Mush and Katherine.

Back in the late seventies and early eighties, I had a very vivid imaginary world going on around me. It helped me through my parents’ divorce, through the birth of my youngest brother and the increase in responsibility I took on when I started taking care of him when he was five months old and I was thirteen. The characters in that world still sometimes check in, letting me see how we’ve all grown up.

My imagination brings me comfort, takes me on adventures and alleviated boredom.

I hope Olivia’s does the same for her as she continues to grow and imagine.