I Just Want to Climb Trees and Play Jacks Again...

I just want to climb trees and play jacks again…

That title probably sounds strange but think about it, as kids the most carefree thing we could do was climb trees, build forts, play marbles or play jacks. Why can't things be the way they were when we were small? 

Picture taken by Deborah Lee at Mercer Botanic Gardens Humble, TX

When you're young you don't imagine a future life full of stressful days, you are positive, happy and living carefree. I remember a time when I would walk to meet my best friend who lived on the street behind me, actually we would call each other as we were about to leave our houses so that we would leave at the exact same time, imagine this, now why i have no answer for that but we would walk towards each other as if we were Cowboys that just got off of a horse singing "I've Got Spurs That Jingle, Jangle, Jingle" as I go riding merrily along" and we repeated it until we reached each other and then we would just fall out laughing because it was so silly but we actually did it. Call that strange (actually it was) but it's just an example of really living life carefree.

I could only imagine what the neighbors thought as they saw us doing this, but back then that wasn't important to us, we were just having fun. I just learned today that this was an actual song by Gene Autry (The call of the Prairie) who knew lol I Googled it, guess we heard it somewhere and we walked the streets singing that part proudly!

As children you don't know the heartache of not being able to sufficiently take care of your family, you don't really know about sicknesses, death or any of those things. Your heart is full of love, kindness and happiness. 

Most of us have never had to go through the things our nation is currently going through with this Covid-19 pandemic and with our financial state being as it is. There are so many people unemployed, so many people sick, and unfortunately so many people dying. This has resulted in a lot of stress and mental anguish and fear for many, in fact WebMD states that 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. have reported signs of depression and anxiety.

Prior to this pandemic there really wasn’t anything documented for us to show how to react or how to feel, fortunately now there are a number of sites on the internet including WebMD (which I love) as well as a number of other sites that provide information on this and a number of other topics related to our mental health. PLEASE if this is a concern for you or anyone in your family call your doctor and be totally honest with how you’re feeling, what your thoughts are and how you’re coping, be brutally honest about it because help is available.

But if we could just go back and dig down deep within ourselves we could find the joy we once had towards everyone, towards life, towards ourselves.

Allow yourself to do the childhood things you once loved to do. Take those walks you once loved taking, you never know what beauty you'll run into.

Create new things to do, or do things you've always wanted to do.

What would happen if we really used our imaginations, not to be naive but to choose to live a much calmer life, one that doesn't involve us acting or reacting negatively to everything or everyone around us. 

There is nothing about being an adult that says you can't build that fort you once loved to build as a child. My brother and I were the best fort builders around (or so we thought) heck I'm sure I'd be pretty good at it still.

Allow yourself to practice being a chef, prepare delicious meals you haven't had time to make before.

Spend more time in your yard, I'm not a sit in the backyard kind of person, but I've allowed myself to be, heck I actually have roses and other flowers blooming! Maybe you want to try gardening, just give it a try.

The point is we CAN choose to be more positive, to be present in our own lives to find more joy in everything, you'll be surprised at how catchy it is.  And if you feel out of sorts make sure to talk it out, no need to hold any of this in. 

Heck, I think I'll go play jacks now, that makes me happy. Marley I’m on my way!