Cheryl A Cleary

Inspired by my son.....

Seven little boys and girls lined up wearing their light blue caps and gowns, smiling, and waving at the parents seated in rows before them. Their teacher asked them to take turns telling us what they hoped to be when they grew up. My son promptly raised his hand and asked if he could go last, and his teacher agreed. He smiled, his rosy cheeks and chest puffed with pride. He rocked on his feet excited for his turn but patiently waiting and clapping as his friends announced their chosen professions - nurses, teachers, fireman were the first few. Another wanted to be an astronaut, the last a dentist.

Such a wide variety and they were all so convincing in their proclamations. Finally, it was my son's turn, and I knew he had mentioned wanting to be a zookeeper, or a vet or a policeman so I expected one of those was going to be his choice...I was so wrong!

When the teacher looked at him and said, "What would you like to be?" He stood tall, took a small step forward and proudly announced in a very loud voice..."I'm going to be a liondragon!". As the other parents smiled or looked to each other in confusion I proudly called "Yes! That's my boy!"

I'm sure we were the talk of the town for several months after that day, but his pride in his choice inspired me to write "If I Were a Liondragon", because every child needs to have big dreams that sometimes don't make sense to the rest of us!

I've always encouraged him to use his imagination and that hasn't changed even though he's now a teenager in high school. And while I never imagined I would one day write a children's story, this is one that I just couldn't keep to myself.