Putting the genie back in the bottle has never had very positive connotations. It’s always used as an “Oh crap - NOW what do we do?” kind of expression. Pandora’s Box kind of situations. You know, seemed like a good idea at the time.

But what if we flip this expression and use it in a way that reflects the magic and wonder of a genie in a bottle?

What if we look at ourselves as the bottle and the genie as the magic and wonder we experienced as children? Is there a way to put the genie in the bottle, ie the magic back in our lives?

If you’re like many women, magic is something you remember your grandfather did when he pulled a quarter out of your ear. Or more recently, when those Mister Clean Magic Erasers completely removed the hard water marks from your shower. Be still my heart…

If that’s the case, you, my friend, need to do a little magic makeover.

The first step is remembering when the genie (magic and wonder) was still in the bottle (your life). What did that magic consist of? Was it following a path through the woods to your grandmother’s house? (This is not Red Riding Hood, people, there was actually a path that went from our house through a bit of woods to my grandmother’s house).  Was it floating leaves down a stream and building little dams with sticks to change the flow of the water? (Also from my childhood.)

How about books you read? A Wrinkle in Time? The Hardy Boys? Every single Black Stallion book, or anything else written by Walter Farley? (Yup, me again!)  It dosen’t matter what they were, what matters is how they made you feel!

Did you create draw or paint? Sing or play music? Write stories? Have long conversations with your pets? Draw horses, dream about horses, read about horses, beg for horses, hope for horses (notice the theme here? I definitely knew what I liked as a kid!)

Now fast forward to today. Which of those memories make you smile and think, “I really miss playing the xylophone, or entering spelling bees where I had to spell the word xylophone…”

If spelling bees were your thing, there are actually ways you can recreate that rush of displaying your superior knowledge like this website. Rather play the xylophone, but don’t have an instrument? You can play digitally on sites like this.

If reading was your jam, you’re probably already familiar with Amazon’s Kindle but don’t forget your local library not only offers great deals on paper books (ie - read for free), but many libraries offer digital options through sites like Libby. There are also sites like Online Library, which has a goal of “creating a web page for every book ever published.”

The point here isn’t necessarily the how, (to be honest, you’re old enough to figure that out on your own). The important part is the what. What did you find exciting? What did you get so involved in that you forgot to eat, at least for a little while?

If you're into journalling - dig into this a bit for a few mornings and see what pops up. You could also look at old photos, or hop onto Pinterest (warning - that whole “forgetting to eat” thing might come into play here), to see what looks like magic to you.

And then go ahead - brainstorm a few ways to put that genie back in the bottle and take a few minutes a day, or even a few a week, and dive in. Trust me, the result will be magic.