imagination

Early tomorrow, my yellowmobile will take me across the mountains and back towards Kentucky. My new nephew had his one month birthday yesterday while undergoing surgery. He is still in the neo-natal intensive care unit and we're not exactly sure when he'll be able to come home. I'll be back to help out again, but for now, my visit is coming to an end.

In the meanwhile, my older, almost 3 year old nephew Nate and I had time to get to know one another. He's let me know that my car is his favorite and that he doesn't like Kentucky. (because I have to go back there to my dogs and the professor...) I've also created a monster--my nephew now refuses to take even a very short car ride without listening to the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Actually, he thinks that only two tunes "count" as the Carolina Chocolate Drops....Memphis Shakedown and Corn Bread and Butter Beans. The adults in the family can all sing Corn Bread and Butter Beans and when the kazoo starts up in Memphis Shakedown for the 15th time, sometimes the adults look like they will kill me. :) Oops!

Nate also loves to drive, and in this he joins my dad. My parents have two convertibles...one is a Miata and the other is a 1965 Triumph Spitfire my dad has restored. Of course, Nate can't ride in either, because he needs to sit in the back seat of a car with a car seat. Instead, he likes to spend a lot of time "driving" the convertibles right in the garage. In the last week, we've spent hours driving. He is the fastest driver I know. He tells me to get into the car, buckle up, and then we "go" places. The ice cream store, the milkshake store (separate destinations), the museum, the airport, his house, his friend's house, --you name it, we've been there...in his imagination, of course. Aunties can get tired getting in and out of the convertible for over an hour in a cold garage, but not my nephew. His imagination is on fire!

This brings me right back to my last post. It's been so exciting to see this dream come true--a smart, hopeful, capable person of color elected U.S. president. It's also a spark to the imagination of so many children who now believe that they too can one day aspire to the heights of the presidency. Now, I'd like to dream about, say, 2016--when we'll see a woman become president. A person can dream, right?!

I'll be back--likely with more stories--in a few days when I've made the long journey (700+ miles) home.