When we were young, we wanted so badly to grow up, get bigger and do all of the cooler more fun grown up things everyone else was doing. We would get mad and upset if we were too small or too little or not old enough to do certain things or meet the requirements. We could not wait until next year or when we were bigger or to drive and be all grown up. We look idolize and look up to our parents and older siblings and could not wait to be like them. But, with all of that wanting and waiting, I believe we miss out on all of the pleasures of life we take for granted and find ourselves now as adults wanted to get back to when we were young. There is still a kid in all of us and that is what makes us us, happy, silly and creative people. For those parents out there the best things for us is to relive a lot of our own childhood through our kids eyes by experiencing their experiences with them for the first time.
Let me take you back to when I was young and the things I remembered about growing up and being young.
When I was young:
My backyard was the biggest and best playground out there. It seemed like a mile long and was the best football, baseball, soccer field, basketball court around. I could ride my bike, I had a trampoline, I played in the mud. I did gymnastics, played home run derby and climbed trees.
Playing and running through the sprinklers was a highlight of any hot summer day.
Going swimming and staying in the pool for hours on end and not leaving until my whole body felt and looked like a prune.
Street football was amazing.
Going to the park was a highlight. The swings and slides seemed enormous and like they were 20 feet high.
Getting excited when I heard the ice cream man coming.
Riding my bike for miles and miles around. If my parents only knew how far away we actually went, they might flip a lid. My bike was my best mode of transportation and was used daily.
Popsicles, Otterpops and Kool aid were the staples of my summer diet.
Getting excited for thunderstorms. In Phoenix, the monsoons would come at the end of every summer with these huge black clouds and they would usually flood the neighborhood and kill the power for hours. We would have so much fun playing in the water and the flooded areas. We would be totally drenched and would not even care.
Saturday morning cartoons were way better back when I was young.
Any sugary cereal was the breakfast of champions when I was young.
Family BBQ’s for every major summer holiday. Lots of great memories with my aunts, uncles and cousins at my grandparents pool.
Climbing trees and hiking mountains was just an awesome adventure.
Staying up late and sleeping in until 10 or 11.
The days seemed like they would go on forever and you could fit so much fun and activity in you could not believe it. Never getting tired and being able to go from riding bikes, to playing basketball, to swimming without even thinking twice about it.
These all just highlights of my childhood and all of the great things I remember most. Regardless of your childhood and growing up background, all these great memories do not need to end just because we have grown up. Yes, we are adults and have more responsibility now but we also have the ability to set aside some free time and act like we were young again. Do not let your age limit you from being a kid. Let us all have our inner child come out and play and play with some enthusiasm, excitement and flat out fun. For me having kids lets me become a kid all over again and I absolutely love it. It is a compliment to me when someone says “you never grow up” because quite frankly I never really want to anyway. If growing up means being boring, no fun and getting no enjoyment out of life than count me out. Life is way too short to be taken to seriously.
Enjoy it, love it and have fun with it, remember when you were young and ask yourself what would I do when I was young?
“We do not stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing”
Frontdive Fitness 