London Calling...

From the heart and off-the-cuff

It is with abundant amounts of shame that I return to you. Clearly, a year and a half of not blogging is unacceptable behavior. In fact, it breaks the cardinal rule of blogging: Thou shalt blog regularly or not at all. That said, I am hoping to keep up with this on a slightly more regular basis, but I am too self aware to promise anything. No comments from the peanut gallery, please.
I wrote this a week ago out of nowhere. Actually, I was thinking about childhood and how amusing it would be to have a movie scene at a playground with a woman talking to an infant as if they were another adult. (Tina Fey played her in my mind—very dry delivery, very funny!) I sort of started writing it as a script; but then it morphed from that to what I wish I had known, and what I still needed to be reminded of daily. This epistle to the little ones in my life, somehow, is the final product. And seeing as Olyvia has just celebrated her third (THIRD!) birthday, I thought I would post this instead of keeping it trapped in the My Documents folder forever (with the rest of my unsolicited ramblings).

To children everywhere,

Enjoy this, really. Enjoy being this age. Because before you know it your life will be complicated…really complicated. It will be a heaving mass of jobs and relationships and money and stress. And no one ever tells you that when you’re a kid. You exist in this deluded world where grown-ups are all fabulously happy and functional and live to throw New Year’s parties and bake cookies and kiss on the mouth. If you asked a 7-year-old what he wanted to be when he grew up, he wouldn’t answer you with anything about being able to maintain a healthy relationship and pay off his mortgage. But a 37-year-old? Well, that’s just about all he’s thinking about. That, and his impending mid-life crisis. Does anyone grow up thinking they’ll become the crazy homeless man that is always shouting about Florida falling into the ocean? No, but someone does just that.

When did it all get so screwed up? At what age does all the magic get sucked right out of being alive?

Please promise me to at least make an attempt to retain some of your wonder about the world. Life is not all bad, despite what your observations will lead you to believe. People are flawed, yes. They let you down, they lie, they cheat, they think of only themselves; some even do things that will make you feel sick in the pit of your stomach. But you will, too—you’ll disappoint people that you love, you’ll do things that you’re ashamed of, you will make decisions that you’ll obsess over for the rest of your life (not too many, I hope; but inevitably one or two). Because—and here’s where you may feel defensive, but hear me out—you will be just as flawed as everyone else. No matter how much strength of character you have, how strong your will power, or how squeaky-clean your lifestyle (which will be RIDICULOUSLY squeaky-clean…right?? Ok.); you will not be perfect. And not perfect is not perfect is not perfect. Your life won’t be perfect: it won’t always go according to plan; at times it may even be downright tough to get through. The person who is perfect for you will not be perfect, but that doesn’t make them any less perfect for you. Also, adults don’t actually know everything nor do they have it all together. I know: it’s shocking and disturbing and not a fact that you’ll believe right away…or maybe even until your Mom or Dad proves it to you. But even if your parents don’t know everything—and may, on occasion, mess up—they’ve still been around longer than you and have picked up a thing or two, so…you wouldn’t do wrong to listen to what they have to say.

Now, I don’t want you to think that being a grown-up is a total downer. There ARE some fabulous things about the adult life! For example, you can eat ice cream whenever you fancy. Lyvi, you could wear a skirt everyday. Callum, you could have all the brown bread you wanted. You can pick the sugary cereal at the supermarket that doesn’t even pretend to have any nutritional value whatsoever. You can choose what you do all day, where you go, when you go to bed. Yes—you can choose your own bedtime! Crazy, right?! (Although that might be a privilege that some of us should not have…[sheepish grin]) You can travel and see amazing new places and people that you had no idea even existed. You can create a home for yourself, and maybe even share it with someone you really like being around. See? There are lots of things to look forward to.

So, keep reading books with happy words. Try to play outside whenever you can. Keep learning new things and asking “why?” (although maybe not after every sentence). Spend time with people who make you smile and laugh. Eat your vegetables so you can grow big and strong. Give hugs. Get plenty of sleep. Know when to use the word “good” and when to use “well.” Enjoy the sunshine. Love other people, even after they give you reasons not to...because they will. If you want to, go right ahead and sing at the top of your lungs. Do things because YOU want to do them, not because of outside pressure or because of some twisted sense of obligation. Don’t stress yourself out trying to please everyone else…it won’t work, no matter how hard you try. Don’t be ashamed of the things that you enjoy: cheesy music, less-than-critically-acclaimed films, or anything else deemed passé by your peers. In my humble opinion, it is a flagrant waste of time and energy (and oftentimes money) to keep up with the trends…and it has never made me a happier or better person.

Remember, little one: you are a work of art. You are loved. You are someone’s greatest treasure. You are capable; and even when you are not, you have friends and family to support and assist you. You are never alone. You encompass all of my hopes for the future, and I am confident that my faith is not ill-placed.

With all my ♥,
XOXO

[As I was writing this, I realized that there are SO many other pieces of advice I could give...Do you have any that you would offer? I am very interested to see what other people would say. Please feel free to comment.]

posted by Becs @ 10:22 pm