Oh Would You Just Grown Down Already!?

My mother always says that I was born 60 going on 16. You see, I was the child that ran across the street every eight hours to make sure my neighbour took his pills on time. As a teenager, I still took care of those around me, mothered the kids I had been babysitting since I had started babysitting at ten years old, and I never drank let alone went out to parties. My poor mother tried to get me to go out and be a normal teenage girl but I was far more content to stick my nose in a book or work multiple jobs.

Now that I am an adult, I have finally I learned to act like a kid, to be spontaneous and carefree. Only now I notice that everyone around me seems to have forgotten what it was like to be silly.  

What a crying shame!  

As we get older and face an even larger variety of stress inducers, as more and more of our mail becomes bills and work becomes even more demanding, I think we need now, more than ever, to just... remember.  

Remember the spontaneous snowball fights, the pervy snowmen and snow women, the running around playing tag and the dressing up. Now, more than ever, we have to learn to enjoy life and just decompress. Now that we have learned to grow up, we have to learn to grown down. We have to find the middle ground between being responsible and being imaginative, fun loving, and immature.  

Last weekend, my best friend from college was up for my birthday and I am very grateful to say she is just as grown down as I am.  

This friend of mine has started making period clothes (as in the date, not the joy ride we females take every month affectionately referred to as shark week) and has recently made me a costume dress for my birthday. In fact, she took my measurements the day I left for my trip to Peru and had it waiting for me two weeks later when I got back! (Kudos girl!!)  

While she was here, we donned our costumes and went out for a photoshoot. We posed between pillars and frolicked around the giant Beauty and the Beast like fountain, we laughed at the difficulty people must have had with their hemlines back in the day when the garbs were popular, and we took photo after photo as little girls on Halloween. We just had fun.  

Now, I am very fortunate in that she is not my only free-spirited, young at heart friend. Indeed, my family and family friends are all very capable of silly fun and it is actually quite common for us to break out the air soft pellet guns, or the water guns and water balloons. This group of family friends, known as the Buck Listers or the Bucket List Group and mentioned in a previous blog, often gets together for pot lucks and game nights, or yard games and barbecues, and often leaves me wondering just how others survive life without these amazing experiences.  

I mean, when was the last time you returned to your childhood favourite activities? When did you last invade a tickle trunk (costume box for those unfortunate beings who have never watched Mr. Dressup), or hit your friend in the back with a surprise snowball? Can you remember the last time you went sliding in the snow, or played hungry hungry hippos? When was the last time you met imagination with legos, or better yet, when was the last time you built a blanket fort? I bet you would be even better at those things now if you only gave them another try!  

In a previous blog, I mentioned the movie Patch Adams. For those of you who have not seen this movie, I once again encourage you to do so. For those who have, I would like to remind you of the noodle scene when the little old lady held on to her silly childhood dream and finally accomplished it proving that you are never too old to feel young again.  

I'm betting that in your life you have heard ''Oh would you just grow up already?!'' a bunch of times, but have rarely remembered to grow down. Never been reminded to retrace your steps and find your inner child, not for the children you may or may not work with, not for your own children, but for you.  

So here comes the challenge some of you may have seen coming a mile away.  

Remember the childish things you used to love, or perhaps have never had the chance to try. Heck, come up with new things! Anything come to mind?  

Do it!  

Look inside yourself, find your inner child, and invite them to build the biggest lego castle you can. Turn your Entire living room into one giant blanket fort, or your whole house if you are feeling particularly adventurous! Go to the store and buy a bunch of ball pit plastic balls and fill the back yard. (One awesome guy I went to college filled his shower with them, it was great!) Dream it up and get right to it!  

When you have succeeded, or if you have already done something of that sort, comment below, or email me at thebrastreetrambler@gmail.com. Feeling even more daring? Post a photo on Facebook or Twitter ( #thebrastreetrambler or @TheBraStRambler) and encourage your friends and family to Just Grow Down Already!  

Remember, you are never too old to just be young!  

Cheers!  

The Bra Street Rambler  

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To see my best friends work, feel free to check out her blog at http://signofflintandfeather.blogspot.ca/