“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”- Elizabeth Lawrence
How often have you heard someone remark off-handedly, “Oh, to be a kid again!”? After all, that’s when life was simple; obligations and commitments didn’t exist, and every moment of time was yours to spend as you desired. Every day was a gift to be opened and celebrated- an adventure in the making.
Right? Can I get an amen?
Well, yes. And no. Nostalgia is a funny thing, so let’s allow that our memories may be a little fuzzy here. With the challenges of adulthood, we often forget the trials of youth. We dismiss a child’s lack of power and influence in their own lives, what it means to have decisions made for you, and how life contrives to present circumstances and conflicts that would overwhelm even those with the benefit of perspective, knowledge, and experience. We romanticize the notion that childhood is a series of still moments of perfection.
Continue reading “Childhood’s Garden”
Imperfect Perceptions 