I’ll Never Grow Up

Near the Field

I never wanted to grow up.  There didn’t seem to be any benefits to being an adult.  It was great to hang out at the creek not too far from my house.  Entire days would be spent there walking the trails and exploring.  I can’t count the times I crossed to the opposite bank balancing on a dead tree that spanned the water.  One winter I spied a sled stuck just below the thin frozen surface of ice.  I wanted that sled so I jumped up and down to break through the surface; cracks began to form.  I was so close to success, when finally, gravity again instructed me in her mysterious ways.  The ice opened and down I went up to my waist.  A disgusted, soggy kid walked about a half mile back home with no sled.

The passing of time gave me bigger muscles, more hair and a deeper voice.  But the kid remained.  Then a remarkable thing happened just when I needed it.  Effortlessly events fell into place, which allowed me to be fireman.  It was great!  I played with fire and hoses.  I climbed aerial ladders and chopped holes through walls and roofs.  I raced fire engines down streets.  At night the alert would sound and the guys would slide down the engine-house poles to mount the apparatus and race to an emergency scene.  And best of all, the kid in me remained alive and well!

Well I finally reached the age of mandatory retirement.  Being a fireman is now behind me.  Now will I finally become an adult?  Heck no!!

A few years ago I became reacquainted with art.  I found that I could play with paints and charcoal.  I could splash gesso onto canvases and plein air paint.  My wife is also an artist so we enjoy this journey together. 

My wish for you is that your inner kid is alive and well.  And if he hasn’t been visible for a while, wake him up!!  For the kid inside never completely leaves; he just reluctantly sleeps from the boredom of adulthood. Let’s all go on this journey together, splashing paint on our canvases and painting in the open air.  Let’s all be kids.