To Be a Child Again

Mommy Diaries: To Be a Child Again

Remember not having a care in the world? Remember not knowing the concept of money? Do you ever remember looking up to your parents and thinking how it felt to be that tall? Remember when you naturally trusted people ? Do you remember not knowing what stress was? Or what it was  like to be a parent? Pay bills? Or waking up, hoping and praying that today wasn’t the day that depression or anxiety didn’t hit you like oncoming traffic? How about (my personal favorite) having a difficult co parent who constantly drops the proverbial ball and tries to gaslight you for his lack of parenting or communication?

Yea, me either… I often pray I don’t throw myself in front of oncoming traffic daily (totally joking).

I don’t know what those days are like anymore.

But I’ll tell you this…I like to document when I’m playing with one of my own children and feeling like a child again myself. For me, it’s more than just an escape from this cruel, cold world my youngest has yet to endure. It’s transformational and fulfilling in a way that only the innocence of youth can provide. 

According to the article Childhood Happiness: More than Just Child’s Play in Psychology Today, being loved by their parents and feeling that love, is one of the biggest factors that contributes to whether or not a child feels happiness in their daily life. 

I often like to call our backyard our “Little Enchanted Forest” or “Our Little Neverland”. Lately, it’s been Our Little Neverland. Maybe because I refer to myself as one of the lost boys (girl) because of my tight social circle. I keep myself pretty sealed off and guarded these days. Or it might be because of my youngest daughter. 

My point is, I want those memories we are creating together to become the food of nostalgia’s future self. Memories of her Mom playing with her on our swing, or in our garden smelling our flowers, dunking cookies in milk, finding ladybugs, and having picnics with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (even if we had to use hot dog buns). I want her to look back with joyous memories of those childhood conversations filled with the pure innocence of a child’s inquisitive mind. “Can ladybugs hear us, Mama? Do they have ears too?”. 

See, one day she’ll think back to these days (as will I) and maybe she’ll tell a friend, or maybe these memories of us will come flooding back on one of her saddest days. We all know the healing power that positive memories can supercharge. 

There’s more to creating these great childhood memories than just the benefit of nostalgia later in life. There is research to support that those memories are linked to a better quality of life as an adult. 

US News and World Report mentioned a study reported in the journal Health Psychology. The study followed 22,000 participants for years to gauge their satisfaction and fulfillment in their lives. According to the article, “the study found older adults with fond recollections of early relationships with their parents were more likely to have better health, fewer chronic illnesses, and a lower risk of depression.”

So, I say all that to say this….Be a child again once in awhile. Escape from the world’s chaos that we adults have to constantly throw ourselves into. Giggle, find ladybugs, potato bugs even, swing on swings, play doorbell ditch (on a vacant house that is), dunk your cookies in milk, have picnics with peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, talk to your children before they are teenagers and no longer want to talk to you (or find you annoying). Embrace their innocence.

Moments like those are fleeting and disappear into our memories too quickly. They are so much  more rewarding than buying them toys, the newest pair of kicks, or that video game that just came out. Create these memories. These Moments will forever walk with them throughout life, guaranteed!

To be a child again…