I love toddlers. One of the things I love the most about them is their great imagination. They view the world so differently from us more mature folks, and I enjoy discovering their whimsical world–full of imagination and far-fetched ideas.

I got a glimpse into this imaginary world the other day when I was visiting my brother’s family. We were eating breakfast when my two-year-old nephew Isaac looked over at me and said between spoonfuls of oatmeal, “Aunt Joy, have you seen my airplane?”

I couldn’t remember him showing me any toy airplanes, so I told him I hadn’t and that he would have to show it to me after we finished breakfast.

I was soon following Isaac as he took me to see his airplane. His little feet pounded on the floor until we were standing in front of his crib. He pointed at it and said, “That’s my airplane.” He went on to explain that that it was blue, and that it flies fast.

I couldn’t help but giggle. Imagination is an amazing thing. All I saw was a brown wooden crib, but Isaac saw a speedy blue airplane that flies during his naps.

I know that someday Isaac will no longer imagine that his crib is an airplane. In fact, he’ll forget that he ever had. Someday his calculator will no longer be his smartphone and the mound of rocks that he made will no longer be a fire. He’ll grow up, but I hope that he will always carry a spark of that childhood imagination with him wherever he goes.