Yesterday I saw a young boy in a faded grey Liverpool jersey kicking a ball around in the small compound of his house, all alone. I wanted to hop over the fence, and play with him.
But I didn't. Because, hmmm... people just don't do that.
Which makes me really miss the times many years ago I used to follow my older brother and other kids of the neighbourhood for our daily dosage of football. I was never good at it, and being the only girl, I almost never touched the ball (save the times where it came flying straight at me, smashing, pounding all my internal organs). Lol. The times where I did MIRACULOUSLY score a goal (olé moments=P), I remembered and gloated over for a very long time.
And then, as we grew older, and tuition became a horrible part of our time and lives, and as many older friends became busier and left home, the games eventually stopped, and so did my footballing days.=( (There goes my castle in the air of being the first female-recruit for Liverpool). =(
Clocks and vases stopped breaking, and our arms and legs also eventually stopped becoming bruised and sprained, much to the delight of The Mum. But so did much of the fun and carefree moments.
Maybe that's what I don't like most about 'growing up'. Not that we already are ‘grown up’, but the process of becoming one- ever changes, evolves, bringing about its own challenges, bittersweet as it is.
I mean seriously, if each of us were given a chance to travel back through time, wouldn't we visit the carefree days of kindergarten and AMAZING FOOD KINDERGARTEN ALWAYS PROVIDE. =D
Being young, naive, and innocent to the world around us, not having anything in the world to care about except whether we would be allowed to go out and play that evening. To being forced to make choices, bear the blame for your mistakes, and having to watch people you love and admire being diagnosed with terminal illness and slip away slowly.
Time is so evil. But time is also beautiful. It depends how we look at it. From the point of view of someone who doesn’t want the holidays ever to end (note to self), or, to look at it is inevitable as part of finishing an education, finish A-levels, go to med school, be a doctor.
The ‘elixir of immortal youth’ unfortunately doesn’t exist. Or maybe, fortunately, it doesn’t. Much as we wince at facing the inevitability of growing up, the responsibility it brings, the peer pressure that comes, maybe, as we mature, we notice little everyday things that help us move along, beauty we would have not have noticed when we were younger, knowledge that enriches, experiences both good and bad, lessons learnt.
And ha, the driving license=D
Moral of the story, life is short, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” –James 4:14. So savour it, enjoy it, learn from it, and find its purpose.
From The Kid-who-doesn’t-want-the-holidays-to-end. =(