CREDOS: Childhood — III

I let my children re-teach me that afternoon, for I’d forgotten that a whole world of fun could exist in a child’s backyard. I’d forgotten how much fun it is to squish and squeeze fresh mud into patties and lay them on rocks to dry in the sun. Or how plucking the stem from a honeysuckle will reward you with a single sweet drop of “honey.” Or how forbidden it feels to make a mud puddle with the garden hose and stomp in it just for the sheer fun of getting dirty. And how thrilling it is to climb just one branch higher in a tree and then from your perch in the sky, gaze over your tiny kingdom through innocent eyes and yell, “I’m the king of the world!”

There was once a time when a day seemed to last forever and yet now I feel there aren’t enough hours in a day to do all that needs to be done. I now know that the days slip by all too quickly and so does a child’s youth.

Once it is gone, it can never be reclaimed no matter how badly we wish for it. As for myself, I can only hope to capture a few stolen moments from my children’s youth to remind me how precious these carefree days are for them. And I try not to question why they will go through the trouble to rake all the leaves in the yard into a big pile just to run and jump and stomp and kick them all over the yard again.

Instead, I go outside and join them. Enjoy the moment with them. Because even though they don’t, I know the moment won’t last forever. — Beliefnet.com (Concluded)