Today my outfit looks a lot like something I would have worn in first grade.
Back then, my favorite color was purple, my favorite food was Cosmic Brownies and my favorite activity was monopolizing the swings during recess while singing songs from Aladdin.
Is it weird to worry that your 6-year-old self wouldn’t like your current self? Because I do.
Sure, first grade Lisa didn’t like to brush her teeth and refused to learn how to read, but she also unselfconsciously embraced what she liked. She sang really loud and tried to set pr’s with her skip-it and traversed the neighborhood on a pogo stick. She thought everything Lisa Frank was made especially for her.
She rode her bike like this:
I think she was more brave than I am.
I bet she would like the skirt I’m wearing today and my balcony garden. She’d find my pantry boring, but my nail polish collection, amazing. So that’s a start.
Being an adult is awesome (when it doesn’t suck). But childhood had a whole lot more wonder and exploration and risk and unbridled amusement.
I probably don’t have enough of those things.
I worry a lot about what other people think. And most of the time, that gets me no where but confused and anxious.
I think I’m going to lean into my worry about 6-year-old Lisa’s estimation of me. Her opinion – if nothing else – will leave me in a more colorful and happy place.
Good morning, Lisa!
I think your six year old self would be amazed at who you are and all the things that are different than she would have planned and expected! While we all have need for a little more spontaneity and creativity in our lives, (especially when being an adult sucks!), I think the fact that you wonder about this and ask this question is proof that she’d find you amazing!
I am lucky enough to have a best friend who has never not known me. She was born 1 year and 17 days after me and we were bff’s long before the internet! As she recently turned 60, we had a great chance to enjoy a glass of wine and reflect… we decided that getting older allows you to make more choices and lead into activities with a definite decisiveness. We found the lead-in of “now that I’m 60, I don’t ever have to…” has many endings… “I don’t ever have to zip line across an open cavern”, “I don’t have to tolerate mean people”, “I don’t have to eat vegetables that I don’t like”… We also have long lists of things we still need to accomplish — but “now that we’re 60, we don’t have to call it a bucket list because that sounds like we’re dying soon — and we aren’t planning that.”
My point in telling you all this is that this friend and I continue to find life amazing and often think about all the paths we’ve taken (she once lived in a sod hut in Oregon for a year — MUCH braver than I am!) and places that our lives have continued to intersect. I think we both wake up on most days and hope for the best. We both have quick tempers that flash and forgive easily, we both are mamabears when it comes to our children and are lucky enough to have married our best friends (other than each other!)
Enjoy life — I’m sure your 6-year old self and Lisa Frank would both LOVE today’s outfit! And, I’ll bet you could still ride your bike that way and pogo-stick through the neighborhood.
Miss you!
Love, Deb
Oh, Deb. Thanks for this sweet comment. I appreciate your wisdom and encouragement. 🙂
We should plan a way to see each other soon.
xo
Lisa
I like this post – very charming. 🙂 And definitely something to think about!