How to Avoid Growing Up Before Growing Old
Growing up is overrated!
FORGET IT! Growing up is for teenagers and quite short-lived. Enjoy life. Wear Purple!
When I was a kid of about six one of the most frequent commands I got from my older sister was “Grow up!”
I would have been happy to oblige but I had no idea what that meant! I could only grow older one year at a time but age didn’t seem to be her concern.
There was some mystical measurement of ‘growing up’ that seemed to be related to behavior, but even when I figured that out the bar kept moving as I had more birthdays.
My sister was one who enjoyed dressing up with high heels and scarves, scavenging her attire from our mother’s closet.
Is it that simple? Is growing up a big game of ‘let’s pretend?’
“When will you ever grow up!” Now I was ten and snooping in her diary.
When I was thirteen I dissolved in tears because a boy teased me about my bra which showed through my t-shirt and she said it again.
Aging is confusing!
I lived in a total state of confusion about age. When I asked her if I could go with her and her boyfriend to the movies she said “You’re not old enough.”
Is it any wonder that today I am still wondering how old I have to be before I am ‘old enough’? And I have given up on the idea that I will ever grow all the way up.
“Grown-up” is a moveable goalpost and I just have too much fun chasing the balls in life.
Some day I will find myself in the end zone and possibly score the title of ‘grown-up’ but I can wait. REALLY!.
I will never be as old as my sister and today that makes me chuckle. Growing up is not on my bucket list
So what are some ways to keep from growing up as our bodies begin to collect birthdays and wrinkles? Here are a couple to ponder.
The first tip for NOT growing up
Do you remember going to a penny candy store when you were little? Smith’s Variety was 3 blocks down the street and the cash register sat on the biggest glass cabinet that held Tootsie Rolls, Lifesavers in a dozen flavors, Nabisco Wafers, and caramel chews with white cream in the center individually wrapped in cellophane.
Unlike buying a candy bar today, there were no calorie counts or grams of sugar listed anywhere.
Many of the individual candies were two or three for a penny. A whole Hersey Bar could be had for a nickel.
We know that a Lincoln cent is practically worthless today except to a coin collector and if we want a taste of wrapped chocolate mint it is going to cost a dollar.
The first step in not growing up is to forget the value of the tokens in your pocket and don’t add up the cost of every jelly bean you buy.
Head for the nearest old-fashioned trading post if there is one, or find a small grocer who still has a glass case. If all else fails for candy, head for the nearest donut shop but avoid the drive-thru.
The idea is to stand before a glass case and savor the tiny donut holes or jelly beans or peanuts until your mouth begins to drool and you have to wipe the slobber away from your chin.
One of the gifts of not growing up is not being concerned with appearances or nutrition. Your safety valve is that you are only carrying pennies. What you can buy with those is limited. But the experience is priceless.
A Second Tip to NOT Grow Up
Do you remember what it was like to play in the dirt?
I loved a mud puddle after the rain. One in which I could take off my shoes, roll up my pants and let the soft wet soil squish up between my toes.
After I tired of that, I would make a few mud pies with birch leaves for the ‘pastry’ or perhaps a castle would emerge from the depths with turrets and cannons. Then I could stomp it all flat and no one cared.
When was the last time you played in the dirt?
I mean really played!
Perhaps a garden? At the beach? Or maybe a contractor has dug a hole for a new addition to your house and gone home for the night. Nirvana!
Go barefoot out under the moon and wade through the dirt wherever you find it. Reconnect with Mother Earth and know what every child knows —that you and the earth are one.
These are only a couple of suggestions to reclaim a Spirit of Life that we often surrender in the name of maturity, or aging, or some other euphemism you may want to use. What matters as I have said before, is to commit to a fully lived life, and that means to honor and practice those things that we first learned years ago, repackage them if necessary, and then continue to grow old….but never grow up!
[PHOTO CREDITS from Unsplash – Standing in sand by fernando-pelaez; Bakery case by yeh-xintong; penny candy by vinicius-amnx; goal posts by rowan-freeman]
IF YOU DECIDE NOT TO GROW UP, THEN GET THIS FREE GUIDE TO HAVING FUN!
