Monday, October 4, 2021

Our Younger Selves

Kids are unintentionally hilarious.  I watched a friend’s daughter play soccer this weekend, and after the thirty minute game, my face hurt from laughing so hard.  The joy of eight-year-olds playing was contagious.

One little boy was Spider Man, shooting webs at his mom on the sidelines.  Another kid was putting on a full blown pop concert instead of playing goalie.  The coach yelled to a girl, “Run back to your position!  Don’t hop like a bunny!”

They scored in the wrong goals multiple times.  One player caught the ball instead of kicking it.  Their little cleats got tangled, they tripped over the ball, and they ended up on the ground countless times throughout the game.  Not one kid cared.

When the game ended, both teams ran, jumped, and screeched in happiness, hugging each other like they had just won the World Cup.  There was no winner.  No one even kept score.

The kids were simply happy to be there.  It was a beautiful day, they got to run around with their friends, their parents brought doughnuts, and the rest didn’t matter.  When do we lose that?

We’re supposed to get wiser with age, but we could learn a lot from our younger selves.  Don’t take things too seriously.  Laugh it off.  Enjoy good company.  Eat a doughnut!