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I Don't Want to Grow Up

J———-,

I know you’ve told us you don’t want to grow up. You don’t want to turn four. And you don’t want to be a man someday. I am assuming you’ve based these decisions on your own observations of the changes you see as people grow older and then looked at your own life and decided it is really fun to be three, and it might not be so much fun to be four. You’ve decided something may change that will take away the fun of being three, and something will definitely change that will take away the fun of being a little boy when you become a man. Excellent observations. I am proud of you for figuring these out.

Now, all I can do is ask of you to trust me when I tell you, it will be ok, and that what I am about to tell you is true. As you age, you can test these statements for yourself, but I have found them to work for me, and I trust they will work for you.

Four, while different than three, will be fun in many of the same ways of being three, and many new ways of being four. New opportunities open for you as you age, and these new opportunities hold new definitions of fun. As long as you don’t hold too tightly to your old definitions of fun, you will discover new ways to enjoy your life. But if you do cling to the past, you will wallow in melancholy, which here means you will sit in a state of sad mourning for the past and find it difficult to enjoy the present, and that is not very much fun. And that is how you grow old. You can’t stop yourself from aging kid, that is beyond your control, but you can stop yourself from growing old. Be three. Be four. Be a man. And have fun with the subtleties and adventures they each bring. But don’t stop there, don’t forget to be silly, be ridiculous, and be thankful you made it as far as you have as well, these too are powerful secret weapons against growing old. If you can do these things, you will find the fountain of youth and you will always have fun no matter your age.

You don’t have to believe me now, but take these thoughts with you along the way, test them, and let me know what you discover for yourself.

So with that, who do you want to invite to your party at the zoo?

Love,
Dad

END
© 2006 Christian Cloud Abraham

Posted on January 29, 2006 in
Emotion: Wonder, Type: Journal Entry