Childhood [chahyld-hoo d] noun: That too short time of our life when we are, or should be, totally carefree enjoying ourself with the help of basic toys and, above all, our imagination!

When in the countryside of Tuscany my siblings and I spent our days outdoor playing with cousins and the neighbors’ children. All we had to enjoy ourselves with were our bikes, a few balls, plastic buckets, shovels and rakes. We didn’t know any better and had the times of our lives!

Then, during their summer vacations, my siblings and I took our children to the same little village in the countryside to visit their nonna, our mother. Our offsprings all lived in technologically advanced places: Switzerland, Honk Kong, Paris, New York. Although they were not given a cellular or gadgets until later they were, of course, of a generation that was used to deal with some form of technology from as early as kindergarten.

Every time the kids first arrived at nonna’s they initially sort of… deflated. There was just nature around them and a TV that showed 4 channels on a good day. We, parents, would keep hearing, “What do we do here?!” Given the lack of alternatives the kids enjoyed riding bikes, playing ball and the simple things we, parents, had played with at their age. Most importantly they were engaging their very fertile imagination to pepper their games!

They played soldiers with a bucket on their heads as an helmet and a plastic rake as a rifle. They played house claiming on trees’ tall trunks, or under the long branches of a majestic Blue Cedar, decorating their nests with pillows from some deck chairs and whatever else came to mind; never forgetting to bring some yummy treat or other with them. They played soccer and run relays on the meadow, and biked along the footpaths bordering the fields. Like we had done years ago, the kids had elaborated funerals for little birds that had fallen from their nests. After dinner they still had the energy to count and chase fireflies.

At the end of the summer, we were taking home healthy, strong, tan and, yes, often bruised but very happy children! Our kids, now teens or in their twenties, have often recalled those summer times at nonna’s as the most magical they have spent, ever!

Imagination is a beautiful gift to have and cultivate. Childhood is when we are free to let it run our play times, turning them into magical moments that uncover part of who we are and future enterprises already budding in out brains.

Today things are different, but children are still children only for a short time of their lives. There are beautiful parks near all of us, places where children can still unleash their imagination while playing with others, and where they can benefit their growing limbs by biking, playing traditional ball games or invented ones, chasing each other on a relay, or playing any other game their imagination inspires. The kids will thrive because of it and will be thankful for it later on, when real life takes over, and they will realize how lucky they were for living their childhood to the fullest.