can we keep him

He was three. Three years old when he first put together the pieces of his chunky toddler k’nex into the now famous upside down U shape. Little did we know that this very shape would be famous in Jonathen’s childhood. He still at 11 has it with him every day and almost every where. Today he went to go grab a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie and he tucked it under his arm while he used his hands. That was the moment I realized I needed to pay homage.For Jonathen’s eighth birthday a girlfriend bought him the next stage of k’nex and he opened the box, created the U, and tossed his chunky original aside.

There is not a day that goes by that you can’t hear Jonathen run through the house. U in hand, making inspired noises. One day I sat and asked him why he loved it so much and why that shape. Oh how I wish I recorded that conversation. It went a little something like this.

Why do you love this toy so much?

It is the key to my imagination.

Why do you love this shape?

Because each side acts like a handle and I have to paddle them back and forth to make them work.

What happens when you throw it down?

It doesn’t happen very often but lately I loose my imagination, it makes me so frustrated and I just throw it.

Jonathen has the most amazing imagination I have ever met. I never want it to go away. I can remember days and days of his storytelling. I would have a pen in hand and he would work his magic. He couldn’t write and make his imagination go, so I would offer a hand. His stories are magical, so deep, and detailed. I imagine one day in his fancy officem where he is a screen writer or an author, this toy framed on the wall. Or who knows, maybe it will be in his hands.