Poque Life

During our morning adult coffee in Colorado, current book obsessions and ideas were thrown around with great fervor.

My Dad was particularly locked into his new read of "Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of a Child" by Anthony Esolen. Through satire we were reminded that we can in fact kill our children's imagination by "rearing children almost exclusively indoors - give in to the threats of the outdoors, don't risk allowing them to have unbridled experiences out of our observable space", or "never allow children to organize their own worlds of exploration of that which is interesting or challenging - replace it with 7 days of structured activities controlled by others" or "privilege safety above all things."

So when Quincy and buddies asked again for a lone backpacking adventure, we said "yes."

I sent a photo to my Dad as he walked out and said, "This is on you and your imagination book if this goes poorly."

To which he said, "Good job, Jody."

Well it didn't go perfectly. It was terrible and wonderful and hard and hilarious all in 24 hours.

They ended up choosing a harrowing late night hike out instead of risking a potential medical crisis. And they did it. They figured it out. And will likely be better prepared next time.

The "poque life" longing that I see in our kids is a good reminder that it may be lacking some balance in their lives. And it made me so happy to hear their stories this morning.

"The sky suggests the vastness of creation and the smallness of man's ambition. It startles leaders out of their dreams of vanity, it silences their pride, it stills the lust to get and spend. Never let them lay in a grassy field and look at the stars." (Anthony Esolen)