This is Growing Up

It was rainy days and fogged up window panes.
It was the sand pit and the playing the hours away.
It was imagining living inside your favorite book or film.
It was climbing and rolling down grassy hills.
It was lolipops in Doctor's offices.
It was stickers and stamps in all your classes.
It was excitement in every single creature,
It was a question with every new encounter.
It was a picture of little chubby cheeks.
It was the way you lost time and track of the weeks.
It was the way you didn't care what happened in life.
The way you played house and pretended to be the wife.
It was the way that everything felt so sure and so safe.
The way you believed and trusted every smiling face.
Nothing was wrong, nothing out of place.
These are the remembered childhood days.
There were happy meals,
Kisses for your wounds.
There were lunchables,
And popsicles too.
You were taken care of,
You were loved.
In your eyes noone hated you,
You were as pure as a dove.
Your eyes hadn't seen so many things,
And life was always a big mystery.
Your mind was fresh and pure.
Your heart so big and eager.
Time fades away and changes things,
But I think my greatest memories,
Will always be of my younger days.
Life is great and being old is fine,
And I know there's heartache paved on every line.
But I still miss being able to remember only happy things,
Like sitting out and jumping off those squeaky swings.
And I know growing older is another stage in life,
And I'll be able to help people with my growing mind.
But still, it was so simple, so sweet.
Being young, being free.

I remember my childhood in the trips to outer space, the disney rollercoasters I created out of laundry baskets, the not caring of what people thought of, the bold voice that came out of me, the dirt on my hands, the chalk on the sidewalk, the bowl full of chocolate ice cream that I unselfconsciously ate, the dragon tales episodes i would watch every day, the swimming pool that I pretended to be a mermaid in, the cartoons I watched every saturday morning with my Dad, the excitement that lived with every day as I had no clue what life would bring me each day. I miss it, I really do. I grew up way too soon, and now I feel like I'm trying to swim backwards. That's why I make faces at myself in the mirror, or asked for a stuffed tigger for Christmas, watch Lizzie Mcguire reruns, wear mixmatched socks, and run down every hill I see. Because it's never too late to return to your childhood. Its not, it really isn't. You can always go back and visit Neverland no matter what Peter Pan says. Sure your innocence and ignorance may be gone, and everything won't be as new or as exciting as you'd like it to be, but as long as you let yourself go and have fun and be a little kid again, then you can always return to some parts of it. So buy that disney coloring book you pass at the grocery store. Leave Christmas cookies and milk out for Santa on Christmas Eve. Watch reruns of Arthur. It's not too late.

(Ps. Thanks Noni, because you inspired this post by your post the other day<3)