This is a picture of my nieces, Chandler and Catherine at 5 or 6 years old, who are now really teenagers.  Wow, how time flies!  On this trip we went to Hilton Head, SC and they are posing with Jake the Dog.  Who is Jake the Dog, you ask?  He is the Black Dog Cafe mascot and it is a casual restaurant chain that you will find at many resort communities.

When you are the age that Chandler and Catherine are in this picture, little things make you excited and someone in a character suit tops most moments.

Six year olds live in a world of magical thinking.  The world is so much to take in at this age and life can be difficult at times to comprehend.  This magical thinking helps them to cope with the world around them and deal with new experiences like all day school, learning to read, and things that can be a bit scary, like vegetables and well really scary stuff too.

Superheroes matter.
Disney princesses abound.
Books with unicorns and mermaids are a bonus.
Playing school helps them to deal with new responsibilities.
They come up with the most imaginative scenarios….

And this age is also one of those magical times with books.  Oh, how I love to read a book with a child this age, as they start to sound out words and try to read more complex text.  Shortly after this picture was taken, we started to read chapter books together when I would visit.  I would start and then Chandler and Catherine took over with the reading.  But we still liked to read about mermaids….and there was a mermaid birthday party for the next birthday.

Maybe we need to have some of that magical thinking in our lives again.  Life can be difficult for adults, so why not think about reading a book like Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” or Harry Potter or maybe watch a movie about superheroes.  Lent is a time to dig deep and connect with the magical self you are hiding somewhere.   It may just give you the strength to get through some of your difficult times, just like a six year old.

Shared by Marcie Doll