My Mother Didn't tell Me How Tiring Being an Adult Is....

The weather is beautiful...one of those days when the earth smells of spring, there is heat in the sun, and a soft breeze. I look at the "to-do" list that seems to have grown from a few items to dozens...and contemplate where to start. 

I pour a cup of coffee and start with number one...get the bills paid. Number two is a little more time consuming...do the laundry...and number three...spring cleaning and pack away winter clothes...and along with all the to-dos...there's the scheduling for the week...what to cook for dinner, what needs to be done at work...and the attempt to schedule some free time with friends...when did life get so complicated?

This time of year used to be free-ing...the time when all the winter cold went away...and there were soccer games, hide and seek, playing outside until the street lights came on...the sounds and smells that made you skip hand in hand with your friends to the playground to ride the monstrous merry go round...shaking off the dreariness of long dark days. Everything is green again and the promise of summer is around the corner...laying on the grass making pictures with clouds, jumping in the puddles made by the spring rain...the freedom and innocence of childhood...

We give it up as we grow...forget the unabashed freedom we once had...confine ourselves to adulthood and find little time to rejoice in the small wonders of a day...the childish wonder that once came with seeing a butterfly, or a flower disappears...and we saddle ourselves with all the to-dos...all the complexities of relationships, and life..

My Mother didn't tell me how tiring being an adult is...instead she kept some of that wonder. So I took my to do list- tossed it aside and skipped to the park to ride the not so monstrous merry go round - and listen for a bit to the laughter of the kids playing, to breath in the air of spring ...and to remember.