Life is funny. When we’re kids, we can’t wait to grow up, dreaming of the day when we can make our decisions with zero parental intervention. Once the realization sets in that being an adult isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, we pine for the days of our youth when hard decisions meant deciding on Taco Bell versus Arby’s.
There’s a price to pay for being an adult and it’s not always cheap. The stress of our careers, monthly bills and huge expenses like buying a house or paying for college are all standard fare for most of us. These are all a bit more stressful than deciding between a Gordita Crunch or a Taco Supreme.
Is it all bad? Of course not. No longer being hampered by our parents allows us the freedom to make our own choices and pave a path that’s tailored to what we want out of life. Being untethered comes with its own set of challenges we have to work through, but that’s all part of growing up and being on our own.
One of the major challenges we have as adults is forgetting that we were children. We lose the ability to dream, lack imagination and become bogged down with the weight of our lives. This is all understandable of course, we have responsibilities and have to prioritize those over everything else. Although this is true, it’s also true that we can prioritize without losing at least a bit of our childlike innocence.
Every morning, my daughter and I have a “puppet show” with her stuffed animals. I have different voices and personalities for each of them with various backstories to draw upon depending on my level of grogginess. This is a morning ritual that I’ve been using to wake her up for years. The whole process takes about 5-10 minutes and usually results in smiling faces and a general feeling of happiness to start our day.
Kids will have this effect on you. They provide us with the ability to relive our youth for brief stints of time. We’re able to act ridiculous, use our imagination and tap into regions of our younger self that had remained dormant for years or even decades. This is especially true during the pre-teen years when their world is limited to a small circle of family and friends.
I don’t want to be misunderstood here. I’m not suggesting you buy a Tony Hawk skateboard on eBay and ride around the neighborhood with your Motley Crue t-shirt on. As mortifying as that may be for your kids, let’s forego the potential broken ankle and stay grounded for the moment.
You don’t need to have kids or be around them to remember what life was like when you had your whole life ahead of you. Too often, the adult side of our brain thinks we no longer have the ability to think big, dream and consider what still could be rather than what has already been. Your younger self is in there somewhere. Buried deep within the burdens, regrets and challenges lies the innocence we all once shared.
At no time of the year is this more evident than the holidays. Family gatherings, gift giving and holiday recipes instantly transport us to childhood. For a brief time, we remember the loved ones we’ve lost and what life was like prior to the twists and turns of adulthood.
More than anything else, traditions are gifts of time from our past that bring happiness and treasured memories to life, allowing us to relive moments we never want to forget.
If only Motley Crue had a Christmas album. That would be a pretty unforgettable tradition.
