I was watching some of the neighborhood kids play in the
rain the other day. Let me say this rain was epic first of all; I'm talking localized
flooding and rivers swelling up kind of rain. But what was interesting about
the kids in the gutter was what they were doing. They were building a dam! Does
anyone else remember building the most amazing feats of engineering as
children? I sure do, I am almost convinced some of the structures I built as a
child still stand. The dam blocking a river at summer camp or the countless treehouses
in Tennessee or the massive sand castles at the beach, with moats that would
deter the mighty ocean.
Okay, maybe they aren’t still around, but they were fun to
build, even the little gutter dams that made the run off stop alter its course
and continue on to the drain. These little glimpses into the time we spent as
children are amazing. It made me ponder what "grown up” means, because I
almost ran outside in the rain to help them build some epic dams. I think grown
up means nothing more than having the money to do the things you couldn’t
afford as a child. As young adults we play video games and go out to parties
and generally have a great time. Then in mid-life, we have those
"crisis" and buy the things we always wanted, go on trips, go to parties,
and play games with our own kids. In old age, we are still children, we collect
cars instead of plastic spoons or Pokémon cards, and we watch TV.
As we get older we choose to do more boring things like, go
to work and sleep. But mankind never loses that spark for fun, for playing and
creating. We all have some form of inner kid inside deep down; no matter how
much we try to hide them. So next time, I see the kids outside building dams in
the gutter. I will be outside with a shovel enjoying the rain. I may even
splash in some puddles.
Hope today is a good one,
austininva
No comments:
Post a Comment