Be A Kid Again

This is one of those lists that get forwarded all over the internet, but I liked this one because it made me pause. How much of these things do I do now, or rather could I do now? If I can't or don't, who is stopping me from doing it now? The answer is usually one of the indicators of adulthood - it might be dirty or dangerous or inconvenient or interferes with getting bills paid.

Be A Kid Again

Do a cartwheel.

* We finally finished renovating our basement after a year of work. The paint, spackle, and drywall dust were gone. The carpets were new, the walls were delicious and smooth and there were open spacious rooms. I can't tell you how much effort and work we put into it. It was a mentally and physically challenging endeavor. It was a cartwheel moment.

Walk barefoot in wet grass.

*Is there anything better!?

Play a song you like really loud, over and over.
*When Duran Duran comes on the radio, for some reason the volume just needs
to be really, really high.

Read the funnies. Throw the rest of the paper away.
*Actually, if you get the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer, that's what you end up doing anyway.

Dot all your “i”’s with smiley faces.

Sing into your hairbrush.

Dunk your cookies.
*I used to dunk chocolate chip cookies in milk and pull out the chips. I'd make a tidy little pile of chips. Then,enjoy a big bite of the chocolate. (Now, I eat low fat ginger snaps)

Play a game where you make up the rules as you go along.

Step carefully over sidewalk cracks.

Change into some play clothes.
*If I had my way, I'd never have to change into play clothes because I'd always be wearing them!

Try to get someone to trade you a better sandwich.
*Anyone want a veggie chicken sandwich on one slice of flaxseed bread? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Eat ice cream for breakfast.
*Ok, this is my plan. Eat flaxseed bread now so I can eat ice cream for breakfast when I'm an old woman. My plan is to make life easy for myself. I'll simply tie a spoon around my neck so I don't have to bother anyone whenever I want breakfast.

Kiss a frog, just in case.
*I'm digging the Geico gecko these days. That British accent on a green lizard makes me laugh uncontrollably!

Blow the wrapper off a straw.

Have someone read you a story.

Find some pretty stones and save them.
*I do that now. I toss them into candlescapes.

Wear your favorite shirt with you favorite pants even if they don’t match.

*Ok, my family of fashionistas will probably claim that I do this already!

Take a running jump over a big puddle.

Get someone to buy you something you really don’t need.

Hide your vegetables under your napkin.

Stay up past your bedtime.

Eat dessert first.

*On hot summer days, my colleagues and I have gone to Dairy Queen for lunch and ordered awesome sundaes. Also, one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia is the Rose Tattoo Cafe. Their mushroom soup and desserts are awesome. There would be a group of ten of us from work, and everyone had mushroom soup. Finally we decided to go for soup and dessert only, skip the meal. I remember we confused some new people who were ordering entrees.

Fuss a little, then take a nap.

Wear red gym shoes.

Put way too much sugar on your cereal.

Make cool screeching noises every time you turn a corner.

Giggle a lot for no reason.

Give yourself a gold star for everything you do today.

*I like that idea! So much that we do goes unrecognized, not necessarily by others, but by ourselves. We get bogged down by the 10% that didn't go right, we missed appreciating the 90% that did. A former boss commented once, "You turn on the light switch every day. You only notice when the lightbulb doesn't work." I think that's so true. We don't acknowledge ourselves or the people around us for 'lighting' up when they do.