Daydream Believer

When I was little I was a daydreamer. Now that I am old, I am still a dreamer. My dreaming usually needs a little help like cumulous clouds, great big old elm trees, or a beautiful fire whether it be in a fireplace or a bonfire.
When I was young there was a singing group called the Monkees. They sang a song called Daydream Believer. It was written by John Stewart. The first verse always reminded me of myself when I was very young. It goes something like this : “Oh I could hide ‘neath the wings of the bluebird as she sings. The six o’clock alarm would never ring. But it rings and I rise, wipe the sleep out of my eyes….”
I never wanted to get up in the morning. When I did wake up, I would stare out of my bedroom window and try to see directly into the big old elm tree. I could imagine shapes, and make the arrangements of the branches and leaves into some wonderful art sculpture. It was my very own secret. I did not want to be laughed at.
I am a Gemini and I have always believed that the “Twins” describe me perfectly. When I was little I would bore very easily.
That still happens to me as old as I am. I would complain to my mother that I had nothing to do. She would pack me a lunch and give me a little pint jar and tell me to go exploring.
I would walk the outer pasture where the very tall prairie grass grew. It was almost as tall as I was. I would find a spot that was near a narrow creek. It was only about three inches deep, but there were tadpoles in it. I would lay on my tummy and watch them. They would go in crazy circles and have a good time. Sometimes I would scoop some of them up in my jar, put the lid on it and take it home. Sometimes I would just lay down in the prairie grass and stare at those great big huge clouds. It is amazing what marvelous things we can “make” out of the clouds in our imagination. Sometimes I would have a whole zoo in the pasture, or I would have an angry man or a polar bear, or an iceberg and a multitude of other imaginary friends I had in those great white puffy clouds.
My imagination was helped along by the warm sunshine and its effect on the insects in the prairie grass. The crickets chirped and others I could not identify buzzed. I watched the ants busily carry food to their hill and little grasshoppers chomping happily on the blades of the grass.
It’s too bad I wasn’t old enough to write stories then. Those stories would have been wonderful to read. I may have grown up with no one to play with, but I had nature and a vivid imagination to make up for it.
If I ever had the opportunity to give advice to young people, I would tell them to “like yourself. Enjoy you own company. Create your own kingdom, but most of all, be a daydream believer.