Friday, June 23, 2006

Food for Thought

1.) I had a co-worker of mine pose something to me that I had never really thought about. In a recent conflict of mine, she shed light on: Maybe people are just presented in our lives for certain reasons. Maybe they're just meant to be in our lives to serve a purpose and that's it. Sometimes they're meant to be in our lives forever; sometimes they're just meant to be in our lives for a short period of time. The key is knowing which is which, and when to realize that the purpose is over. I have a hard time realizing the latter....or do I want to realize it?

2.) Why did summer used to mean so much to me as a kid and now it's "just another day"? I was walking to the park with Maysen the other day and saw 2 kids playing in the sprinkler in the front yard. I was immediately brought back to the exhilaration I felt on "the last day of school" which marked the first day of summer. That meant late nights, sleeping in, excitement because of that evening's softball game, "harvesters" coming into town, 4th of July parade/carnival, days at the pool, riding bikes, locusts, fire crackers (in particular, Black Cats), the Campbell boys, neighborhood "Capture the Flag" and "Grey Wolf" games, Ashley Herman's trampoline, and the smell of a warm humid night. This part of the year was MORE than just a part of a year. It was "THE" part of the year. What everyone lived for. The break from everything else. It's sad that as you grow older, that exhilaration fades and summer, a once absolutely cherished time, is now just mixed in with every other day of the year. But now you can bitch about the heat. I want to be a kid again.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hear ya, sister.

Matt and I had this conversation, too. I'd often wondered why things change as an adult - like when you were a kid, Christmas was like :D :D :D And now you're like "Eh. Cool." We came up with the conclusion that it's a combination of things. The primary one is that as a kid, you dont really have a lot of memories to base things on, or life experience. So it's all new and fun and blah blah blah. But as you get older, you've been there, done that, and now you have other responsibilities, so all of it just seems like another day. I think the second part of it is that we're adults. I don't mean that we can't get that excitement back. I think we had a lot of free space to occupy our time with, so things like Grey Wolf or camping or going to CO on vacation were different than just hanging out in the yard, like every day brought to us (or working at the Fridge). It was all just a good time. Now we have to work to support ourselves, and others, have bills, and it seems like our lives are consumed by not much fun. I think personally, we can get all that back, if we wanted. I think we need to become more free spirited again. Our fun might not go back to playing Barbies in the yard under the oak tree anymore (remember that? I used to rip off dad's work rags and build tents out of them for my Barbie ;-) but it can involve other things we enjoy now. The thing is, making time for them.

Jenn

Leslie said...

Well, I realize that it "should" change as you become an adult for the obvious reasons mentioned. Yet,I worked full time during the summers of highschool, and they were STILL exciting times. Trips to Garden, dragging main, etc. I wonder if part of us, despite efforts, become bitter/tight/numb in adulthood as I know there are still things out there; unexperienced things to excite our minds. But it's the "Eh, maybe..." attitude that forbids that. Unfortunately with adulthood comes experience that takes away the fearless nature (ie: almost drowning, knowing repercussions of certain actions, etc). As a kid, danger holds no boundaries. Hell, I'd be happy right now for a Tuesday night poker game out on my porch while kids play in my neighborhood. Maybe I should start one ...

Anonymous said...

Yeah, maybe. Get some excitement going again. That's good advice, by the way. Maybe I should take it, too.

Jenn