Ninjas? Yes Please!

     When I was younger I was a G.I. Joe, my favorite character to pretend to be was Snake Eyes.   My brothers and I would build a fortress and battle invisible enemies.  We would strategize, plot, plan and build our armory.  A stick could be a sniper rifle, a big stick would be a bazooka, rocks were hand grenades and where we lived we had a limitless supply of all.  We lived on sixty four acres of trees, fields and water, the perfect playground for our imaginations.  Some days we were GI Joes, other days Transformers, or Ninja Turtles, or just ourselves…but with super powers!  I miss those days, the golden years of my childhood.  Anytime I look back on those days I smile and get flooded with the memories:  mud fights, tree forts, bonfires, BB guns, climbing trees, and skipping rocks.  All of these activities were enhanced by our active imaginations.  Were weren’t just throwing mud, we were throwing hot lava;  we weren’t just shooting BB guns, we were saving a village full of people from bandits;  we weren’t just climbing trees; we were climbing mountains to sneak behind enemy lines.  
     The adventures I lived out during these years were a direct reflection of the person I am at my core.  I wanted to be the hero, the good guy, the one everybody looks up to and cheers for.  Now, as a dad, I get to be all these things again.  I get to unleash my inner child!  I get to build a fort, put together a train set, wear a towel as a cape, play with Lego’s again!  Of course, I say that it’s all for the kid, and part of it is, but I have a secret…I’ve really just missed being a ninja.