Kool-Aid Kid, Popsicle Princess

When I was a kid I lived off of Kool-Aid and Popsicles in the summer. Cherry my favourite flavour in both cases. A nickel for a popsicle, and a couple of cents for a package of flavoured crystals, add a cup of sugar and water to a big jug and you were set for a hot summer’s day. Bare feet (watch out for the glass) and your bathing suit was all you wore for two whole months.

I remember sitting on the curb of the sidewalk one lazy August day, the heat rising off the asphalt of the road. Remember how it would get so soft the tar and stones would stick to your flip flops? The hot summer breeze gently swaying the large old maple tree across the street as the buzz of the insects bemoaned the heat of the swealtering afternoon.

I happened to be alone this particular day, no friends around and the street had this haunted feeling, like I was the only one on the face of the planet. Just me, the bugs, the maple tree and the sun. I remember thinking, at the tender age of 8, that this was an incredible moment and although I was all by myself, I did not feel alone. Talk about living in the moment! And that memory and the feel of it never left me. Sometimes when I want to be alone, when things are driving me crazy or I happen to be stressed out I go back to that moment, and within an instant, I can smell the thick, humid air, hear nothing but the breeze ruffle leaves, while birds are silent, conserving their energy in the mid day sun. I can still feel the rise and fall of my chest as I sigh to get up and leave to find shelter in a shady spot.

When the demands of being an adult have us stressed out at times, Oh how we would give anything for a day where all you worried about was whether or not you could eat your popsicle quick enough before it dripped down your arm.

Sometimes we just have to give in to a “child day” a day when we play like otters. A day when we go back to the feelings of innocence and flying like superwoman with our beach towel tied around our neck. A day when we have a tea party with our dolls or play nurse to our dog who seems willing to be tied up in bandages just so he can get the attention.

Somewhere along the way we lose that simplicity, that sweetness of wonder and curiosity and become forgetful, by our responsibilities of mortgage payments, car loans, credit card bills and a nine to five job. Our lives become bogged down with workloads, driving our children from this hockey arena to that soccer game, and obligations to friends and families leave us with hardly enough time to brush our teeth at night. We become cynical, doubtful, and eventually anesthetized by world happenings. And before you know it we are totally pooped out and when we finally do take the time to look at our lives, we wonder how come it flew by so quickly.

So here’s what I think. I think that at least once a month we should sit on the curb, barefooted with a popsicle and just listen to the sounds and take in the smells of a hot summer’s day, or lay in the snow and make snow angels on a cold winters evening. Or how about running through the sprinkler with your kids? Or gather a group of your friends and play touch football, or a good game of baseball. Oh what about this… riding your bike through the puddles, legs out, just after a rainstorm… better yet, running through the puddles in bare feet while raining? One day a month to feel like a child again.

Just because we are adults doesn’t mean we have to give up the child within. I think that part of us needs to be nurtured so that we can maintain our compassion and composure in a world that seems way too busy and way too stressful at times. What was your favourite thing to do as a child? Tag! You're it!!!!!

So I dare you... Go ahead, go buy a box of popsicles and some Kool-Aid and watch what kind of magic happens when you do.