Wednesday's Wisdom....

Oh, ain't it the truth?

Raise your hand if your life was simpler and carefree before the age of ten.

"You knew not that you knew not," as my parents used to say.

Back in the old days, before social media and color television, 

I thought everyone was the same as me.  

Everyone's parents had grey hair, their Dad's worked in NYC, and birthday parties were celebrated in your kitchen with some of the kids from the neighborhood.

Everyone I knew had a woods either in their back yard or nearby to play in.

Routines and rituals were comforting, such as a set bedtime, Saturday morning cartoons, placing holiday decorations in the same spot every year and Lipton noodle soup when I was home sick from school.

Some "lifestyle" and "self-help" books I've come across over the years suggest you look back to your happiest memories of childhood and ask if you can repeat any of them now as an adult.

A few come to mind....

riding my bike

ballet dancing

the smells that emanate from pile of autumn leaves

wearing clothes made from corduroy or flannel

swinging on the swing set in my backyard

hugging our beagle

So in the midst of the craziness that seems to be swirling around everyone these days, I am making a concerted effort to rediscover those comforting, familiar memories and repeat them.

Think I'll start with hugging our basset hounds.
And if the weather ever cools down, 
I'll don my flannel shirt and corduroy pants 
and have a sit down on our backyard swing.