Arts and entertainment for babies big and small

By the time you read this, I will have become a father to a baby girl. Thanks to advice from scores of folks (specifically, co-managing editor and awesome father Matt Sanders) I should have a decent handle on the situation, especially for a first-time father.

One of the best pieces of advice came from my own dad, Jerry Samons.

"Don't go out and buy lots of expensive toys," he said. "You'll be real tempted to. But you'll get something like that home, and all the kid will want to do is play with the box."

I remember those days, when a box became a fort, time machine, car or anything else my imagination wanted it to be. I can vaguely recall turning a box into a spaceship that I was going to take to a planet where only chocolate bunnies reside. There wasn't anything more entertaining than my own imagination.

Nowadays, entertainment can be more difficult to find as an adult. We all get picky, yearning for just the right music or movie. Our imaginations take a back seat to our tastes. Sometimes we even tire of our favorite forms of entertainment, and have to find fun elsewhere.

This can make for some bored nights at home, trying to decide which bar to hang out at, band to see or restaurant to eat at.

But with the new baby girl, I'm going to reactivate my childhood imagination. The baby isn't going to care if we're singing to Radiohead or the Spice Girls, as long as we're singing. She won't mind if we have a clubhouse under some blankets or in a VIP room somewhere, as long as we're playing. And she won't notice that we're having tea parties with imaginary teacups instead of fine china, as long as we're partying.

We should all be so lucky to have life filled with unlimited imaginary possibilities. Ah, but we can! Just take time this week to get out there and find your own box to play in.