Shadow Friend

If you have read my previous post “Enjoying the Little Things”, you saw that I had talked about our nieces and nephews, under the title “Little Youngsters”. Well, I’m going to refer back to the phrase that kids really do and say the “darndest” things. I was visiting my husband’s family last night, and all the kids were there. Our niece Rayney asked if I would go outside with her. So, we went out to the back where the trampoline was. She asked if I would jump with her, but I declined, and said I would be happy to watch her jump (all the while, thinking about all my memories on a trampoline as a kid…some good, some not so good). The sun was beginning to set, but still it was very bright outside. After a short time jumping, she then said in excitement “Look, you can see my shadow friend, and she has a shadow trampoline too!” Of course, she was looking at her own shadow, as she continued to jump as high as she could. But, I still had to ask, curious what her response would be, “Rayney, who is your shadow friend?” She replied, “She is me, because she looks like me, but she can’t talk.” I chuckled to myself, while pondering the wonderful thing about childhood imagination at its best. I am certainly grateful for these moments, as they don’t last forever.