Monday, November 20, 2006

Reverting to Childhood

The other day, I was in the waiting room of a doctor's office. I was there for longer than I wanted to be, and because I was alone, I was people watching.

Anyway, I was just looking around, half-dazed really, and I started listening to some ten-year-old girl talking to a couple of unrelated five- and six-year-old children. She was talking about all sorts of things, keeping them occupied while their mother was slowly suffering in pain.

Part of me wondered why this women would bring two small children to the doctor's office with her. Were it me, I would have ensured they were in school and gone then, not after work. Of course, I like taking off from work to go to the doctor's office.

Funny thing is that this little girl reminded me of me when I was in fifth grade. As I was half-listening to her talking to her two new friends, I started thinking about when I was her age. I can remember vividly my childhood, and as I was remembering when I was in fifth grade, it occurred to me that I perceive that I still think in the way that I thought of when ten-years-old. And I could have not been thinking in the same manner. If that were the case, I would not have grown much more in my twenty-some-odd years. I can't imagine that.

Perhaps when we change, some of our perceptions of past years are re-gauged. As we grow emotionally, perhaps we re-set our memories based on the growth. If we had a temper-tantrum and were unable to control our emotions, perhaps we re-remember not our inability to control our emotions but the events that caused that pain.

When I was in fifth grade, I had a boyfriend. Being a girlfriend in fifth grade meant that I called him my boyfriend, I chased him around during recess, and I dreamed of white-picket fences and owning my own puppy. I have grown a little since then. I don't chase my hubbie around playgrounds, we don't own any pets, and our house does not have a picket fence.

I can't remember what my point was going to be. Perhaps I should buy a half-pint of chocolate milk and take a nap on a light blue pad. Now that would be wonderful.

11 comments:

LarryLilly said...

Leesa, you have halfzhimers, you know, not quite all, you have to go back only HALFway to where you were to remember what you were going to do/say/etc.

LOL

Rant on sweet lady, it makes us smile, even if your blithering causes you to wonder.

If streaming consciousness was an art form, we would all be imbeciles.

Prata said...

Your brain doesn't actually ever age. Isn't that neat? Like when you are 30-40 (depending on how your body has aged) your brain still believes you can do the things you were doing when you were 15-18, and it just scales out. Funny that, but you have to consciously say to yourself..."I don't think I can actually _do_ that". It's kind of neato keen. It's one of the reasons why the elderly insist they can do things on their own when they really can't.

Tony said...

I can only remember a few items from my way past. One of them was when I was 4 years old and I had to go out front to turn off the water. I remember looking at the kids in school across the street and thinking, "Hey, I'll be able to go to school next year."

Thanks Prata, that explains why I can't.....hold it, you know, now that I think abut it, maybe I can.

LarryLilly said...

Prata, that reminds me every time my wife does something that challenges her physically to the point where you have to say, You really thought you could hike that trail WITH a 30 pound backpack? She two years removed from her first back surgery. "Well, the doctor said I could do whatever i wanted", yeah, and after her visit with him, he says "I never thought you would go backpacking"

This from a woman that used to ride with the Angels in Oakland with Sonny Barger many years ago, she never thought she would live this long anyway.

Your correct, the brain doesnt age, its just that for some, the synapsis that connect the brain with the muscles say, "Whoaaaaa there buddy, you going to get killed doing that" LOL

Prata said...

LOL

Body: "Umm..you might want to not do that...this is going to break something."

Brain: "Lies! Execute!"

Body: "Whoa..wait..okay that hurts."

Brain: "But we made it, I told you so!"

Body: "I believe we are in need of medical attention."

Realization: "My femur isn't supposed to be over there is it?"

Anonymous said...

I remember the age of ten like it was yesterday....oddly enough.

LarryLilly said...

Singular events when I was very young, up thru the years are locked into my brain, as small as it is, like they happenned yesterday. Others like entire years of middle school, well, maybe in my next life I will find them again. I remember my first catholic mass as an altar boy, in latin. My, how I turned into such a depraved soul after that, coincidences? LOL

Leesa said...

Chocolate milk and a nap on a light blue pad.
Sounds wonderful :)

If only it were that simple.

Cute post :)

kathi said...

Hmmmm, maybe she homeschools, or maybe it was the only time the dr. could get her in. No clue, but taking the kids to the dr's with me was a nightmare, even if it was for them.
Yup, we all dreamed of those things as little girls...it's what little girls are made of. Pity it doesn't work out that way, huh?

Blog hog said...

Leesa had a smaller butt when she was 10 years old than she does now:)
hehehehehe

Katie McKenna said...

lol.. I might vote for naps ! ;) After cookies please!