It’s the simple things. When you’re young, it’s all about toys and candy and getting out to ride your bike. Not complicated, not serious – just simple. We didn’t understand nor did we care that we were living a very simple life, and our sole purpose was to grow up. And we did – all too fast. We wanted to be bigger like those other kids and we tried real hard to act older than our shoe size, but it wasn’t to be. Just look in the candy case at Moore’s Market when we were kids and it proves my point. Wax mustaches, candy cigars and cigarettes were popular and besides, how ridiculous did we look? If we couldn’t be older, we would look older. Hey, we were kids – what did we know? That lasted for several years, and when we finally found out we were actually growing up, it was too late. We already did.
We have a way of losing sight of those simple things. We make it harder than it needs to be and we worry more than we really should. It didn’t bother us as kids, so why should it bother us as bigger kids? Each and every one of us would do it the same way if we could, so why don’t we? I need to get lost in my imagination more often and let my motorcycle take me back down the road to my youth. Our lives need to be filled with more sun and dirt while we chase each other through the tall grass. Laughter should always be close by and the wind should decide our direction. There really isn’t any reason to be home before it gets dark and who wants to go in the house anyway?
Life is serious enough without even trying. Our responsibilities outweigh the inner-child in each of us and it takes some of the fun out of wearing those wax mustaches we wore as kids. We grew up too fast and I surely don’t run as fast or as far as I did when my age and shoe size were the same. We tried so hard to act older back then and now I’m trying to feel younger than I do now. My heart is screaming for recess but my body is telling me “let’s think about this first.” After all, I had a two-pack a day candy cigarette habit.
Jeff Maddox 