My Day As A Child
By Jeremy Gulley
Inside all of us lives the child we once were. Many people embrace this child and have a wonderful relationship. I, on the other hand, do not. I try hard to keep my inner child where he belongs, inside, buried, so that the adult I am trying to be can be in control.
Last Wednesday, however, my inner child won the battle and made an appearance for a day.
My son, Israel, and my niece, Laura, were given the opportunity to serve as a page for Senator Pat Apple at the Topeka Statehouse, and I served the role of driver and lunch provider. Or so I thought.
Luckily for me, I was asked to stay. I took a tour of the Capitol Building, I sat through the page orientation, and I accompanied the kids to meet Governor Brownback. An interesting thing happened as I walked through these experiences: I started to feel like a little kid again. Thoughts about politics, vocation and other worries of my adult life melted away as I learned the history of our state capital. I was filled with pure enjoyment and childlike wonder as I met the governor.
I have to admit, I wished I had been given an opportunity like this when I was 12. I didn’t, but luckily I had the opportunity at 37.
Thankfully I was able to empty myself of my adult hang-ups and prejudices and simply enjoy my day. Thankfully, I was able to give up my preconceived notions about government and the political process and experience it as a little kid. In fact, I was so successful at connecting with my inner child that when I wrote down Israel’s name on the certificate form, I wrote my middle name instead of his.
As I left the kids in the early afternoon, my inner child fled back inside, and I became an adult again – heading off to classes at UMKC – I felt sad that I wasn’t still with the kids. I missed them, of course, but I think the real pain came from missing out on the afternoon activities. For me, letting my inner child out for a day was both exhilarating and painful. I enjoyed the wonder and innocence available to me by seeing through the eyes of a child, but did not enjoy the reminder of how difficult it was to grow up. The problem with letting the inner child out, even for just a little bit, is that once it’s out, it eventually has to go back in.
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Posted by admin
on Feb 2 2011. Filed under Jeremy Gulley, Opinion.
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