09/05/2025
I took a vacation in July and am finally finishing the photos from the trip. One of the highlights was a stop at 1880 Town, where I paid eight dollars so my kids could rent costumes. What I got in return wasn’t just a few fun pictures — it was watching them fully immerse themselves in another world.
They didn’t hold back. My son became a cowboy. My daughters called themselves pioneer girls. For an afternoon, they weren’t “pretending” — they were living it.
It made me wonder: when do we lose that? When do we stop letting ourselves get fully immersed in something, just for the sake of it?
Watching my kids reminded me: imagination isn’t childish. It’s the raw material of every breakthrough.
And maybe that’s what we’ve lost. Instead of full immersion, we settle for a new iPhone with another camera lens — snapping instead of stepping in.
Maybe we’re all just a little bored. Maybe we all need to dress up and play cowboys (or pioneer girls) in 1880 Town every once in a while.
