"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."
-- Unknown
--

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

A big ol' slice of monotony

Have you ever noticed how much of our lives we hurry through? Monday through Friday we count down the days until the weekend. We wish away 5/7s of our lives. That’s over 70 percent, people!

And it’s not just weekdays we wish away. As children, we all long to be adults. At least I did. I wanted to be old enough to make my own decisions, have my own things and operate on my own schedule. I don’t know how many times I glared at my parents, secretly (or maybe not-so-secretly) wishing I was out of their house and making my own rules.

And now that I’m actually here, doing all of that stuff, I sometimes wish I was still just a kid. Because as an adult, I have bills, house work, yard work (which I admittedly do very little none of) – and I have to be accountable for all of the decisions I make. And that’s not always fun, is it?

Sometimes, I just want to curl up on the couch with a bowl of Chef Boyardee and watch Fraggle Rock.

Or read The Boxcar Children.

I want to get excited over T.G.I.F. shows on Friday night and wake up early to watch Saturday morning cartoons.

I miss the Pound Puppies.

And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I want to make crazy designs in my Lite Brite.
Being an adult has proven to be pretty boring in comparison to all of the great stuff I got to do as a kid. I think I’ve just let my life become too routine. I get up, go to work, go home, watch TV, eat supper, go to bed, then do it all again the next day. Talk about monotony! I’ve been throwing exercise in the mix lately, so that breaks things up a little – but I need some excitement. I need to spice things up a bit. Maybe if I found more things to entertain my time, I wouldn’t feel like being a grown up is so bland.
(Um, excuse me... but I think someone forgot the seasoning on my little slice of adulthood. Could I have some salt, please?)

Of course, given that the majority of people living in my town are senior citizens, I don’t know how much I can find to do. I hear there’s a weekly Bingo night. And a polka night (no joke). And I could always take my neighbor up on her offer to let me join her water aerobics class. I wonder if I get a neat little swim cap to keep my hair dry.

No matter what I do, I’m going to try to stop wishing time away. I’m going to start living in the now.
Besides, time goes fast enough as it is. I need to preserve my youthful appearance as long as I can, right? The quicker time goes by, the closer I am to wrinkles Botox and gray dyed hair.

8 comments:

Rachel Cotterill said...

There weren't many times when I wanted to be an adult... I could see that adults had to work (I liked school!) and I also noticed that once people reached a certain age they seemed to want to be younger again. I think I've got enjoying myself down to a fine art with all this practise ;)

Jen L. said...

Salt is bad for us. Use pepper on your slice of life.

It IS so easy to fall into the same old rhythm. Too many nights go by where Marcus and I go to bed after spending three hours doing absolutely nothing online. Then the next morning, we're both freaking out because of all the things on the big to do list.

Your stream of nostalgia is AWESOME and reminded me of two distinct memories from our childhood. Remember Ravioli, your Cabbage Patch Doll? Love her. Also, I have a VERY vivid memory of us (we were probably 9 and 3) playing with a Lite Brite on Grandma and Grandpa's living room floor. Isn't it weird how one image will bring back a memory you'd forgotten?
That's all I got. ;)

Lacey said...

Oh man... the Box Car Kids! And Fraggle Rock! And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I feel like I just went through a time warp! :D

Diane said...

When I feel that way, I go rollerblading or I swing at the park. Nothing makes me feel more like a kid than those 2 things. Of course, I didn't get tired after 30 minutes of skating when I was 10, and my butt fit on the swings a WHOLE LOT better back then... but hey... it still works ;)

Jenners said...

You know what ... there is absolutely NO REASON why you shouldn't do some of the stuff you did as a kid. Lite Brite is not too expensive ... treat yourself to one. (Though in revisiting this particular toy with my son, I found it not as fun as I remember ... the big pitfall with childhood things ... they aren't as much fun now that you are older). I hear you though ... I felt so much like that. I pretty much "spiced" up my life with blogging (a bit lame perhaps but I love it).

Perhaps you should have a contest on your blog for ideas on things to do to get you going again!

Jessica said...

Fraggle Rock, Dinosaurs, Lite Brite??? I LOVED them all!! Ohhh you just brought me back.
But really.. I feel like this a lot. Too much. And i hate it. I really need to make some changes seeing as how not only do I rush the week away.. I actually dread the week days. It's really sad.
We need to meet eachother IRL and have a weekend together. I'd go for Bingo night!!

Melanie Gillispie said...

Routine...yeah, I know. It's so boring. Shoot, I live in a pretty big city and it's still boring! Why can't we just have the best of both worlds. Why?? I need to get out. Really.

Anonymous said...

You had me tearing up until you mentioned the swim cap and the picture of you in one made me laugh. I miss watching Fraggle Rock with you. I miss having you as my little girl, but I'm so very proud of the young woman that you have become.
Love,
M