It may come as a surprise to you, but our household is one of imagination.  Whether we’re prepping for a meal, hanging out in the backyard, running through our chores, or reading on the couch, we have a tendency to invite the creative into our actions with open arms.  Perhaps that’s because it makes the work seem not so much like work, or maybe it’s just that we like to make each other laugh; whatever the underlying reason – we enjoy the world of pretend and all of the little nuances that come along with it.

I suppose creating ‘things’ has always been in my blood – that is, after all, what it means to cook, be it with or without a recipe. You are face to face with ingredients that need to be refined, measured, and assembled in order to reach a final and hopefully desirable result.  More often than not my time in the kitchen is one of imagination, where the fridge doors swing open and the collection of ingredients inspires the imagination to do something.  While the kids may not quite have all of the skills or knowledge to create just anything yet, they are dabbling in the idea that a meal or a snack can go off script and be inspired by things such as mood, weather, seasonality, and especially personal taste.  Peanut butter and pickle sandwich?  Go for it!  Dipping Oreos in lemon juice?  Honestly why not?  Each different creative thought expands on what works, what doesn’t and what else might be possible.

Stepping out of the kitchen, our household plays to the creative in countless other ways, too.  I can’t tell you how many different poems, dances, jingles, dances or songs we’ve manifested over the years, and though nary a one of them has the busiest of ever being recorded for public consumption, they sure do solve for the drudgery of doing regular old housework.  It’s much more enjoyable to dance with the broom or attempt to sing louder than the vacuum than it is to just push dirt across the floor knowing that it’s not really the thing you want to be doing in the moment.

It is my opinion that our lives are generally made more interesting once we start to embrace the silly and strange side of our brains – there is a saying in our home that “I’d rather weird than boring”, and I firmly stand behind that as a badge of honour.  We will dress up beyond Halloween, put on accents when reading our books (though the girls are admittedly less impressed at the frequency in which I tend to do this), and story time is any time around the Beandricks’ household.  In fact, there’s a whole cast of character that the girls have come up with over the years, all of whom have fully formed personalities, backstories and details beyond just a name.

Be it Marve Larland, Gary McFurlée, Phil Baskloney, Sagarsky Humperdink, Geroldine Devinchy, Ploofey Mcousky, Ananda Mcousky, Peter Potter, Shirly Merly, Blake Mcousky, Ronald Mcousky, Jim Jaloney or Helen, these characters are always getting up to something – not adventures in the way you might be thinking, mind you – they weren’t fantastical journeys across imaginary lands;  they weren’t fighting mystical creatures to save a village, nor were they seeking treasure, new lands, fame, glory, or love. No, these characters maybe just went to the grocery store, or were taking their dog for a walk.  Real life situations with make-believe people that make their way into our casual conversations just for fun.  “I wonder if Marv likes milk in his cereal?  For the matter, I wonder what his favourite cereal might be?”

I see imagination as a muscle – the more you work it out the stronger it can be; allow it to sit idle and before long it will atrophy, at which point all that’s in the fridge could be a hum drum collection of uninspired groceries.  I feel strongly that flexing our brains in these ways allows us to see and approach real-world challenges with new perspective and build upon our problem solving skills.  Is it always appropriate to put on a silly voice, or make up stories, or dance like no one is watching?  No, probably not, but inside our home is a safe space to try out those new moves and to build the confidence required to know when and what is appropriate in the ‘outside world’.  I marvel at the girls’ ability to work through and escape room; I’m amazed at how they can pick up a stick and become inspired to craft it into something magical, it warms my heart when they write their own stories, draw their own versions of the world, and develop their own style.

My hope is that, by encouraging and modelling the creative now, they will carry the desire to continue as they grow older.  We have musical instruments at the ready, crayons and paper galore, and more tape on our walls and windows than I maybe would prefer; but if that tape is holding up the things they are proud of and wish to display too the world, then I can make peace with the fact that at some point I may just need to apply a new coat of paint; there are worse and far more difficult things in this life  that will need doing than that.  The ideas they have now can evolve into greatness later, and who am I to limit that potential?  They make their own gibbets, design their own greeting cards and Nora has taken to building her own earrings on a nearly nightly basis; she eve has a sketchbook dedicated to the craft.

Yes – we celebrate the creatives in our home at every opportunity we can. So cheers to finding the silly, the odd and the strange; who knows what great things will come of it!