I have fond memories as a little girl, of going to my grandparent’s house to visit and playing with my uncle’s train set. I’m not sure what I enjoyed most… setting up the little buildings or playing with the train itself.

Regardless, this miniature world excited me and delighted my imagination.

Several years ago, my husband heard my tales of playing with this long lost train set, so he surprised me with one at Christmas. It was perfect… a CN train, just like my uncle’s. I set it up and played with it for a few weeks.

However, a dog and a busy life caught up with me and I packed up the train. It stayed in its box until December of this year, when suddenly it occurred to me that my daughter might enjoy playing with my train.

We unpacked it and it has been a new interest for her and has rekindled my excitement and love for this hobby.

We’ve made a few trips to hobby stores over the past few weeks and we have enjoyed experimenting with the layout of the set. I reflect on my memories of playing with trains and as I watch the locomotive go around and around, I realize that as much as I love setting up the train set, I really enjoy watching the train motor around the track.

A circle, another circle… round and round. The hum of the train is relaxing and the predictability of the train… reassuring.

Jennifer Bly

Author of My Kitchen, My Classroom: An Introduction to Homeschool and creator of The Deliberate Mom. Jennifer writes about parenting, homeschooling, her faith, and life with her husband and two girls. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Applied Human Service Administration Degree with a specialization in Early Learning in Child Care.