Being Grown-Up

   When I was growing up, my maternal grandparents lived in a big house not far from us. Every Sunday evening, we went over there for a visit. My cousins would be there too, at least most of the time, as well as my two aunts who lived with them, so there was a pretty good little crowd there. There was a lot of places to play outside, even though I don't remember exactly what all we did, except that there was an alley that ran behind the house that we thought was pretty neat. And around the block was a Haunted House! (That was our assumption: the house had some kind of wavy type glass in the windows and when a car went by, it looked like a candle running through the house even when no one was there! Pretty creepy when you're 8!)
   But that's not why we're here (although it was getting kinda interesting). I remember one night in particular, all the adults were in the living room, sitting around just talking, the kids were either outside or in the other room watching TV, and I was sitting there at the edge of the living room listening to the adults. Suddenly, my dad leaned over toward me and said something like I should go with the other kids. I replied to the effect that I wanted to stay there, and he said "Don't be in such a hurry to grow up."

Man, sometimes I wish I could have done something about it, Dad!

I guess I was always in a hurry to grow up. I had a paper route at 13 because I wanted my own money, I had a "real" job as a busboy at 16, and I was assistant manager of a restaurant at 19. Little did I know what being GROWN-UP involves. I was going to make a list, but why? It all boils down to one concept: Children are only responsible for themselves. Adults are responsible for others. And that puts a lot of pressure on one. I was brought up at home and trained at work to believe that there is a solution for every problem and you can solve it if you work at it hard enough. And if there's not a solution, it's because you didn't do something in the past to prevent the problem in the first place. And in a lot of ways, I believe that. So I tend to fret about stuff. There is a difference between "fret" and "worry". I don't worry. I fret.

This is another reason I enjoy Scouting. (This just occurred to me as I write this, by the way!). I get to be a kid a lot of the time! If I set up the activity properly, when it happens, I get to relax a bit and play with the kids! So, since this is getting a little long, I'll end it right here by saying that if you don't have something to let you be a kid for a while every now and then, FIND ONE! Your friends and family will thank you.