Remain Young.

LCpod: Blue Mind by Alexi Murdoch

As dinner was being made for our guest, I joked that he would need a bib.  He demanded to have one, but we're three single women living in this house, we don't carry bibs.  I had to deliver the bad news that we didn't have any.  Like any man, he was upset.  But once the idea was in his head, he refused to take anything else and demanded he have a lobster on it. I couldn't disappoint him, so off I went, to concoct.  In a flash, I returned with my special gift for him, a custom made bib.  Hand drawn on a napkin, I delivered the goods

It looked smashing on him and it was also very adorable to watch. I couldn't help but visualize him eating at a kids' table, but a grown man he was.  It reminded me of a lunch date I had some time ago with my mom and one of my older sisters.  We were nibbling on our food and either my mother or sister hurried to wipe their face when they had food on it.  I brought up how kids never get the urge to wipe their faces when they eat.  Only once their meal is finished do they wash their face, and even then, they sometimes prefer to gallivant around unwashed.  I wondered how it must feel to go through an entire meal without ever wiping the remnants off your face.  So we did. We ate as if we were children and also went out of our way to spread chocolate ice cream on our faces.  My sister was far more generous.  She put some all over.  Kids are cute when they have messy faces, but adults, looking the same, are not greeted with the same reactions.  She was mortified once she saw just how much ice cream she had on her face.  I, however, laughed my head off.  My mother joined in on the laughter, that is, only after her initial embarrassment over her grown daughters smothering ice cream all over their faces like it was nobody's business subsided.

As we age, there are some things we bring with us and there are others we leave behind.  In this transition, we lose our innocence, our endless faith in the imagined and our unaffected minds and souls.  But all is never lost.  Before it ever gets to a point where you can no longer imagine how it feels to be young, to have your mind run incessantly with only fun and exciting things, to love unconditionally, to laugh without ever holding back and to dance like no one is watching, coat your face with ice cream  Be that kid again, the one that does not give a damn.  Make a conscious effort to always maintain that youthful outlook.  Don't ever be shy or scared to step out from adulthood and back into childhood.  It's good for the soul and a great way to bring back your smile. 

LCxo