Growing Up

There have been many times in my life where I wonder if I will ever grow up. Just two weeks ago this question once again popped into my mind.
That day had the perfect weather. The temperature was in the mid 60s and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was the kind of day that my dad would have gone out to work at dawn and not come back until after sunset.
As I was walking back to Knight Hall, a couple of friends asked me if I wanted to go to the park with them. Ha! As if they even had to ask. I will jump at any chance to go and play. The entire way to Jacobson Park I was giddy and practically jumping out of my seat. When we finally got there, I launched out of the car and raced towards the swings. I, not necessarily being the fastest but having the most enthusiasm, won the race to the swings. Of course, no one else new we were racing, but that’s not the point of the story. For hours I played on the swings, slid down slides, raced across the castle, jumped over steaming hot lava, and I even crawled through tires without ever getting my nearly 6 foot frame stuck. All of the parents were giving us weird looks and wondering what these 5 crazy college kids were doing, but we didn’t care. We were just there to have fun and appreciate the beautiful day that God had given us.
That’s when it hit me. I don’t want to grow up. I want to be able to go to a park and pretend that there are crocodiles in the woodchips. I want to be able to swing as high as I can then jump off at the peak of the swing. I want to be able to feel that pure joy that only a child can have.