Growing Up

Maybe I'm not speaking for the majority here, but it sure seems like a lot of things lose their magic as you grow up.

I remember the days when I was just a kid and it would snow and I couldn't wait to go play in it? I remember going outside and playing in the snow until every inch of my body was just so cold. Then I'd come inside, peel off my wet clothes and put on something warm. I remember it so well that I can almost feel my skin burning when the feeling would start to come back. I remember one time we got a big snow storm when I was off track and home alone. I was determined to make the biggest snowman ever. I rolled a snowball around and around, until I couldn't move it any further. I wasn't really thinking, though, because I was pretty disappointed to realize that the snow ball was so big that I'd never get another smaller one up on top of it. So I started trying to think what I could do with a giant snowball like that. I went inside and grabbed a butter knife, of all things, and started carving away. The finished product? A snow chair. That's about all that my artistic non-ability would allow for. I wish I had a picture. I remember being determined to sit in that chair until my sisters walked home from the bus stop. I can't even remember if I did that, but I remember thinking how awesome that would be. Now, when it snows, the first two thoughts in my head have to do with traffic and snow shoveling. What happened to those days of the snow chair and giant snowmen?

I don't remember doing this, but my mom tells me that another time, my parents came home and found a neat little pile of outlet/switch plates. I had taken a screwdriver and carefully removed a bunch of them. Not sure how old I was. If I even consider removing one of those plates anymore, it usually is because something needs to be replaced, rewired, or at a minimum, inspected.

So a lot changes as you grow up and have more and more experience with life, more responsibilities, and let's face it, more of life's challenges. However, I honestly believe that the magic never goes away. The look on a child’s face when they look out the window at the newly fallen snow, the random smile from my wife, and the amazement that I have been blessed with so much. Sure, with all of that comes the extra responsibility, but even that is magical…that someone thought I was responsible enough to handle it.