I am reminded of it whenever I make a cup of coffee in a single-serve machine. My travel mug is too tall to fit properly under the coffee spout and I end up removing the drainage tray to create enough space to wiggle the mug underneath. Then it seems I always get that tray turned in the wrong direction and it takes a couple of attempts to get it back in place. When I do so I smile because it makes make think back to a toy I used to love as a small child. Tupperware produced the red and blue Shape Sorter that had handles on each end to pull the sections apart and shake out 10 differently shaped yellow pieces. The task was then to match up the shape to the correct openings on the orb and get all 10 pieces back inside the ball. After my sister and I had outgrown it and we gave it away I was always excited to come across one in someone else's home.
I also loved the Spirograph-the toy that made artists out of all of us as we maneuvered the different-sized wheels inside the plastic rings to create intricate geometric patterns. The more colored pens and wheels we used the more colorful and impressive our artwork became. This was spoiled, of course, thanks to the high school teacher who took our beloved memories of Spirograph and had us calculate the math behind the patterns. Ugh.
Amongst the dolls I had there was a definite favourite-one by the name of Velvet who had long blond hair that could be extended when you pushed in her belly button and retracted with a turn of the button on her back. We would entertain dreams of becoming famous hairstylists as we did Velvet's hair over and over again in a multitude of styles.
There were many toys, crafts and games I left behind as I got older; others I clung to stubbornly.
My family spent time playing board games like Scrabble and Monopoly. I grew up to become a decent speller-not so much a real estate developer, so guess which game had the bigger impact? Nonetheless these are games I still enjoy and although we have had to buy replacement editions in the years since, they can still be found on a shelf in my house. You will also find Velvet and her impressive wardrobe because I refuse to depart with my beloved doll. There are others things I wish I had hung on to from my childhood, or at least things that were still not only possible, but likely.
I wish I could sit with a group of friends enjoying a plate of chocolate chip cookies the way we did when we were children. We would talk and giggle and just enjoy the taste without anyone feeling the need to mention calories or turn down the offer saying they are "trying to cut back." Oh, to just enjoy a cookie
I wish I could be like a child again and have the kind of time for friends that we used to have. We would meet up in the park, at the pool, or in someone's backyard and simply make up the activities as we went along. We didn't have to consult our day planners or scheduling app to try and find time for each other. Oh, to just have uninterrupted hours with friends
I wish I could approach the world the way I did when I was a child. We didn't care about the labels on our clothes or the labels the world gave each other, and it mattered little what other people might think. We grabbed a soccer ball or skipping rope--and whether we were the one who rode the fancy bike or the one who ate dirt--no one cared.
Yes, there are lots of things I wish I'd hung on to from my childhoodthings I wish I'd never given up when I grew up. But did I give them up entirely? Oh, I hope not. I think I just need to rediscover them.
I don't have my Spirograph anymore but that doesn't mean I shouldn't draw. I can't eat pizza at midnight anymore but that doesn't mean a slice doesn't taste really good once in a while. I have more responsibilities as an adult but that doesn't mean I can't carve out time for friends.
So no more putting off the things that felt so right as a child. No, I don't want to go back to all the challenging things that also accompanied childhood, but I do want to remember and embrace the spirit with which we approached life. Food, friends and fun used to be a pretty great triple header. Why not again?
I am going to make more time for my friends. We are going to turn off our phones and talk. We aren't going to worry about our hair or our house. And be prepared because I may even put out a plate of chocolate chip cookies. That's my outlook.
