A person’s a person, no matter how small

[Dr. Seuss]

Someone recently made the comment it might be nice to be a kid again. They were only half-kidding. “Life is easier for kids—they don’t have so much stuff to be concerned about.” Which makes me wonder if they consulted any young people to support their “easier” theory.

Between you, me, and the face covering, a lot of unpleasant history has passed under the bridge for our country, yet this year and those that will follow will surely go down as life-changing beyond anything we adults could have comprehended mere months ago.  There’s plenty to be concerned about. And that includes for the kids we all know. [For the purpose of this exercise, we’ll define kid as anyone under the age of 18.]

For example:

  • With the high rate of unemployment, how are Mom and Dad going to pay the bills, let alone keep food on the table and a roof over our head?
  • With things the way they are, somebody in the house is always cranky—so why do you yell at me? And how am I supposed to make Mommy stop crying?
  • Why do the grown-ups get into fights on the sidewalk in front of us when we take a walk?
  • Will I ever get to go back to school and be normal?
  • It makes me sad I can’t see Grandma and Grandpa but I know I need to help keep them safe.

Ask most any kid and they’ll tell you that short list is only the beginning of their concerns.

On the other hand, we don’t have to go too far back in time to realize the statement “it was easier to be a kid” wasn’t really true either:

  • Toddlers who didn’t understand why Daddy or Mommy put on a uniform to go off to war [and there have been many] and failed to show up at the dinner table night after night.
  • Preteens couldn’t make sense of the Great Depression yet were distinctly aware the family had to stand in a food line to get the most basic provisions for the simplest of meals.

Could one explanation for that half-serious comment be that if being a kid does have an advantage it’s that they aren’t expected to behave like grown-ups? To have to deal with difficult issues and responsibilities? That recollection of those years of childhood stir within us the sense they are meant to be as free from worry and concern as possible, and that’s what we’d really like to experience?

If being carefree is one the best aspects of being a kid, let’s start with the activities that make us laugh; that bring joy to our hearts; the things that help us refocus our attention on our blessings. Let us be like the child who stares at the bright yellow daisies and smiles. Or the little one who turns an ear to hear the evensong of the robin. Simple. Yet profoundly meaningful in these unsettled times awash in unknowns.

Would I like to be a kid again?

What does being a kid mean to me?

What are some ways I could embrace the “kid” within?