"We finished our time at the petting zoo. I used to go there as a kid and I guess I didn't realize how plain it is there. It seems in my mind I had built it up to be exotic with a wide variety of animals. The variety was in sheep and goats. To their credit they also had a variety of chickens and some llamas and alpacas."
There is a running joke in the movie "Indian Summer" where one of the campers at a summer camp returns and continually is amazed at how different things look now that he is an adult. He loudly remarks at the different places around the camp that he remembers it being so much bigger. By the end of the movie the other campers who returned with him are all up to their ears with his comments and yell back at him that they know and he can stop with the comments.
Life has a way of changing our perspective as we get older. This can be good and bad. Good in the sense that we realize what is important, valuable, right and true. Often our perspective on what we fear changes. But it is also bad in the sense that we lose some of the wonder of life. We can miss moments and let stress, pressures and new adult fears keep us from childlike faith. Risk, bravery, art, laughter and a slew of other wonderful things become calculated or die as we age.
As I look back on last year's thought I think I need to lighten up. I didn't include my sarcastic remarks about the cost of the entrance to the petting zoo because although they were humorous they aren't worth repeating. What is it worth when my children remember that daddy took them to see the animals? What cost can you place on holding their hands and seeing them feed a chicken or a llama from their hand for the first time?
When we step into smaller shoes and look through the lens of a child the world becomes a fascinating and wonderful place. Partner that with the blessings of age and wisdom and you will have a brilliant life.
What do you remember from childhood as wonderful or fantastic? How can we become more childlike without being childish?
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