It all started when we bought some new shelving for our basement. I looked at all the empty boxes and packing material and thought it would be great to save it for our granddaughter’s visit over the summer. So I stored all the boxes and packing material in our garage until her arrival.

The look on our granddaughter’s face was precious when I showed her the big stack of boxes. I told her I thought we could make a cardboard fort or house in the basement. She was very excited about the project and couldn’t wait to get started.

The next morning we went to work building a house with the boxes and some duct tape. By the next day we were adding drawings on the inside walls and a kitchen counter with the miscellaneous cardboard packing material. We even made a pretend pizza oven.

As I sat in that cardboard house reading my granddaughter a story, I wondered why playing in cardboard boxes is viewed as an activity for kids. As I squeezed inside the small rooms, I thought it might have something to do with size. Those boxes did seem to accomodate kid heights better. Or maybe it’s because we’ve moved on to grownup activities.

Regardless, it would’ve felt strange to me if I built a cardboard fort on my own without any kids around. Perhaps even stranger to ask other adults if they wanted to play in a cardboard house. I guess the point is that those boxes would’ve ended up in the recycling center if it wasn’t for our granddaughter’s visit. 

All of this started me thinking about when does childhood end adulthood begin? How long before our granddaughter no longer wants to play with cardboard boxes? It’s worth considering how much creativity and imagination we leave behind on our way to adulthood. It’s never too late to reclaim it.

So before you take those cardboard boxes to the recycling center, take a moment to consider how to add more creativity to your day. You don’t have to wait for a child to kickstart your imagination.