CHILDHOOD…

‘I wondered where I heard taglines like ‘‘just do it’’ and ‘‘impossible is nothing’’… then I remembered, they advertise childhood.’

When we are young we envy others around us. Usually they are adults or adolescents, we envy the amount of liberty they have, the casual manner in which they conduct their lives. How they drove, drank coffee, slept anytime they wish. But if a child dared to so, well he would most certainly be reprimanded. The most common words in these monotonous cacophonies remained… ‘Not until you are 18.’ And it’s just then that the little Tyke would say to himself ‘I can’t wait to turn 18…. Boy will I show them how to do things.’ Just then a satanic creature found only in the burning loins of hell would smile and grant that clueless child his wish.

Well it’s safe to say that I’m still dealing with the hangover of completing my childhood. While the thought of becoming an adult certainly excited one during his childhood and early adolescence, it certainly looked a lot gloomy as you enter your late teens. All of a sudden you would realize you are not the youngest in a room. You are responsible for your actions, a radical shift in the attitude of others towards you. And let us not forget the expectations, the look every father has in his eyes when his young fella’ has just turned into a man. The silent but distinct tear in every mother’s eye, after all he isn’t the little boy he used to be, but her comfort zone will always permit her into a state of denial.

I often find catch myself contemplating whether I am mentally an eighteen year old. Am I ready to shed the shroud of my childhood? And then another a thought strikes me. Maybe we’re not supposed to shed anything completely. Maybe the billions of cells given to us are meant to store that shroud, for a day you wish to reminisce. Maybe nostalgia is healing, like a glass of wine or a hot chicken soup. I may still have the maturity of a 5 year old…..But I’m not shedding my shroud.