I see nothing wrong in acting like a kid from time to time. I am mostly a serious person, however, there are times when I like to have fun. These fun times often involve silliness, of the variety usually enjoyed by children. On many occasions when I am silly, childlike, and having fun, other people are present who share in the fun. During some of these occasions, however, there is at least one person present who does not appear able to “be a kid” and instead, who becomes increasingly grim and grumpy when the fun times are taking place. David has someone in his extended family (who will remain nameless, primarily for my, not her, protection!) who acts prim and proper in my presence and who has never appeared to appreciate the fun times her kids and I had together. In fact, she has scolded me, along with her children, for our silly conduct together on more than one occasion (she, and people like her, are in my opinion, “groove killers”; more about that in another post). I don’t think having a fun time, acting silly, behaving like a kid, etc. are bad things; in fact, levity is required for my mental health maintenance. One of my favorite co-conspirators for all things fun was my dear friend, Ron, who passed away years ago. We lived next door to each other for many years (when I was in my 30s and 40s and he was in his 50s and 60s) and we often played pranks on each other, such as ringing the doorbell numerous times, then running home or hiding behind a bush before the door was opened; having wasabi eating contests while eating sushi; among other silly things. Ron, like me, was a serious person, but he was also serious about having fun! The next time you take yourself too seriously, “be a kid” and enjoy thing from a fresh perspective. Just avoid doing this around certain people if you don’t want to be scolded for enjoying life!
The question is, what things bring out the kid in you? It is fun to see a bunch of adults get into bouncing the beach balls at a Jimmy Buffett show – where anyone who attends better act like a kid, or be ready to see a bunch of other adults doing so. You were a kid, don’t ever let that go! Melissa certainly hasn’t and it is hard for me to keep up with her when she really gets into kid mode. But, I try. And, it was funny when she “got in trouble” for instigating kid behavior with my relatives. The times we can act like kids at any age are some of the most memorable times of our lives. I guess some cognitive psychologist somewhere has studied why times of fun and laughter stick in our memories. I say this because I can think of times when this is true yet much of the rest of the experiences in that time frame are less memorable. The time when our friend “D” saw herself in a mirror (in a dark concert hall) and thought it was a person who wouldn’t get out of the way comes to mind as one hilarious event. The giddy laughter between her and Melissa is much more memorable to me than the show – the show was good, but the mirror experience is what lingers. It is sometimes hard to let down our hair (if we have any left) and do kid things – fly a kite, splash in puddles or see if the see-saw can handle us as adults. Maybe we don’t want to be perceived as silly, but being able to laugh at oneself is part of being a kid. It’s your life; enjoying it from time to time through the eyes of a kid is a small risk to take given the opportunity to have fun.
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