Boxes (an expansion)

Four giggling girls,
Three decks of cards,
Two watermelons,
One refrigerator box.

All day we played in that old raggedy box, smothering in the southern August humidity. We laughed the day away, sweat-frizzled and grubby-footed from multiple trips through the yard to fetch popsicles and corn dogs.

Is there a greater gift to a child than a big, empty box? My daughter just had her first birthday and she has already experienced the joys of boxes. Beaten like drums, turned sideways as caves, scooted like sleds, and propped open like traps, her boxes were the highlights of her first Christmas.

Her talking puppy, constantly bleating "Hug me!" and "You're wonderful!" was a wonderful and amusing toy. Her new blue stuffed elephant was a cozy pal for cuddling. The dancing chicken doing the chicken dance was a fabulous distraction. The boxes, though, were magnetic, enchanting her fledgling imagination and drawing her into their infinite possibilities.

Boxes are the healthiest toys. They promote physical activity and stir the sense of wonder we all have within ourselves, whether we're infant children or adult children. They transport us to other worlds in an instant. What else on the shelves of Toys 'R' Us can accomplish that?