7 Things I Wish I’d Known as a Child

There are times when most of us wish we could wake up one day and find out that we’re ten years old again (in a perfect delusion, we’d also still know what we know today). Maybe it happens during a stressful week, or when there’s too much month left at the end of the money, or the puppies have woken you up one too many times. But those moments are going pop up with surprising regularity, and with them the thought that it would have been nice to know a few things back then.

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1. Things like naps are actually a good thing (and I might have gotten in trouble less often if I’d taken advantage of them instead of playing Barbies or reading). That there will be days in the future when I will almost cry because no one in my life will point a finger and order me to my room.

2. In a few decades, it won’t matter that I wasn’t the coolest kid in town. The shy nerd who never fit in, who loved books and writing and riding a bike will one day have a career that will make the cliques jealous. Okay, so maybe the jealousy thing is wishful thinking, but the odds are good they don’t love their jobs as much as I love mine.

3. The dream of never, ever allowing liver, Brussels sprouts, split pea soup, chop suey, and butter beans into my home will come to pass quicker than I think, so just suck it up and eat them when they’re served for/with supper. Pouting and letting them get ice cold will never make them taste better – and I’ll never be excused from the table until the plate is clean anyway.

4. Just because I get older doesn’t mean I should lose my joy in the simple things. Remember that while they are weeds, dandelions are still pretty. Finding objects in clouds is a perfect way to pass a warm summer afternoon. Biting a hole in the bottom of a cone and sucking the ice cream out might be messy, but it sure makes eating it more interesting.

5. Comfort will always trump style. All that time I spent agonizing over what to wear, fixing my hair, and applying makeup could have been better spent in the pages of another book – while wearing a pair of leggings, a baggy long sleeved tee shirt, and with a clean face and hair I barely took a brush to.

6. Being a mom is going to be everything I ever dreamed it would be. However, that whole Prince Charming thing? Most men are nothing but domesticated frogs, so just accept that fact and I’ll be a much happier camper.

7. Stop wishing my life away. Being a grownup definitely has its perks, but so does being an adolescent and teen. Embrace each phase of my life because there will always come a day when I’ll miss each one.

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What about you? What are some things you wish you’d known when you were a kid?

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2 Responses to 7 Things I Wish I’d Known as a Child

  1. Love this! I got a chuckle out of the domesticated frog thing, especially as a romance writer. 🙂

    I agree with everything on the list. I especially wish I hadn’t worried so much about trying to fit in. In the long run, it just doesn’t matter.

    And amen on comfort being more important than style! Give me a nice pair of jeans or sweats any day of the week over high heels that pinch my toes.

    Umm… Let’s see… If I could add anything, I guess it would be to not sweat the small stuff. Things don’t have to be perfect. And, I would have taken more chances and asked out a couple of the boys I liked or did things I dreamed of but was too afraid to do, like going to the college I really wanted to. I’d also learn to embrace failure. Failure is just another way of learning to try something different next time. It’s not the end of the world.

    • Kristy K. James says:

      LOL…well, most of them are. We just learn to love them, flaws and all. 😀

      It’s amazing how our perspective changes once we’re out of school, isn’t it? I can, off the top of my head, remember the names of about ten girls I went to school with. The guys are a little different. For those, I can only recall five or six – and two of them, I had crushes on forever. I can remember more than those ones, but those were the ones that really counted – then. And now, I don’t care if I’m a member of the cool crowd or not. I prefer people like me … might not impress anyone, but we’re all real.

      LOL about the high heels. I remember the last pair I wore. They lasted about two hours and then I pitched them in the trash … and it’s been flats and sneakers ever since.

      Don’t sweat the small stuff. Perfect addition to the list! I look back and think about the things I used to worry and care about (like fold the towels THIS way, and WHY can’t anyone else put the silverware in the right slots in the tray?) make me laugh now.

      As for the asking a guy out – I did work up the courage to do that once. Unfortunately, he was engaged, I was mortified, and I never, ever did it again. 😀

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