To Be 10 Again

Friday night I entertained four little girls whose ages, if you averaged them, equalled ten. As predicted, Saturday morning came way too early and with way too much exhaustion. But, it was undoubtedly worth it.

Milkshakes, movie animation of some of American's great children's stories, girl chatter, and uncontrolled giggles, and sleeping on the floor brought me back to when I was 10. I remember the church ladies, unmarried at the time, who cooed over us, who made my friends and I milkshakes, sat up late, and got stern with us just when the fun was getting started. I now remember the pajamas that did not match, top and bottoms. The immense amount of time it took to go through the bedtime routine. How looking at these ladies brought up in my little adolescent mind all sorts of questions about growing older. What would I be like? Where would I work and live? I now remember life being a museum and everything open for touch. No questions were kosher and boys were the furthest thing from my mind.

And now...I live in Chicago. Same city as before. Life, unfortunately, has lost its marvelous museum affect. Boys are all too present in my mind (I'd trade anything to go back). I work for a non-profit telling my altruistic self each day that I am not on a solo effort to save the world, nor one soul, and instead doing "the Lord's work". I am the one cooing over kids now but still look up to those 20 years older than me with the same wonder and questions that I did when I was 10. My bedtime routine has shortened (thank God!) and so has my morning routine, in fact. I've dropped the acne but gained other horrid things. I've now been told there are certain kosher questions...

...yet I keep forgetting which ones they are.

Oh, it would be great to be 10 again... perhaps only for a day.