"Who on earth came up with act your age?" Last night I ventured into Hillsboro village with Lily for the last art walk of 2011. Knowing Santa was arriving for photos, I dug out the head decor usually saved for Christmas eve.
Two years ago I bought assorted hats and antlers for the extended family Christmas. Everyone humored me singing carols rewritten to suit our family and played a game creating captions for family photos from decades prior. My nephew who's addicted to "A Christmas Story" appropriately won 1st prize, a leg lamp night light.
This year my halls aren't decked but it just felt like fun to deck our heads and drive to the village.
Except for Santa and the six month old in line behind us, we were the only two revelers I saw in Christmas head gear. This was fine until I found myself in Posh in line with very young children and their 20 and 30-something parents waiting to see the guy in red.
After twenty minutes of watching my self-consciousness ebb and flow and feeling like Will Ferrell in "Elf," our turn came. The photo was taken and Santa followed his lines, asking Lily what she wanted and if she had been good. His script didn't call for inquiring of me. Before he could dismiss us, I told him I want World Peace. Actually I told him that Lily's mom couldn't be with us, but she asked for World Peace too. She did.
After free hot chocolate at Fido, more chips from Village Automotive and petting the Humane Association kittens again, I took Lily home but remained an elf for the rest of the evening out.
This morning I've wondered why is it that growing up causes folks to get all serious and leave behind spontaneity and fun except for Halloween or when drinking too much? Who on earth came up with 'act your age'? Did anyone really come up with this or is acting one's age a norm born of a time when it was important to keep us in-line?
I prefer "Be You" or B U in texting terms, not who you're told or taught to be, but the unique U that only U can B! I suspect that would provide a head and heart start to ensuing World Peace.
What does it look and feel like for U to just B U ?
Imagine that Shift .....
-Dawn! The Good News Muse 2 December 2011
2 comments:
Loved this article. That's an interesting question - what is the origin of "act your age"? It hadn't occurred to me before that maybe people drink to excess in order to shut off that inner voice that tells them to act their age, at least for a few hours. Unfortunately, excessive use of alcohol can lower one's inhibitions to the point where they cease to think rationally and they do things that are harmful to themselves or others. But being conscious of that voice and the awareness that we can choose not to listen to it is a good start.
Thx, Steve. Wanted to be clear that I wasn't suggesting folks should drink too much. It just struck me while writing that some folks when intoxicated do become less inhibited and are more prone to spontaneity. And as you've noted does at times causes harm to others and themselves. Thank you for your comment.
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