Good day to you, awesome Moxie-Dude readers!
Do you remember what it feels like to be young and carefree? It’s something we lose when puberty crashes into us. And yes, I meant to say “crashes”.
Puberty is like an uncontrollable Mac truck that appears out of nowhere. And even though you sort of saw it coming because of all the tampon commercials they played during episodes of The Partridge Family, you’re still surprised because hormones are assholes that ruin everything.
Suddenly you realize that you can’t go ANYWHERE without first spending six hours in the mirror brushing your hair, which you abruptly realize has its own hormonal problems. Seemingly overnight, you went from young and carefree to a tangled mess of frenzied mood swings and disobedient hair that never turns out the way you want it to.
THIS is what I’ve been thinking about since arriving in Mexico.
I’ve been remembering the long summer days (pre-puberty) that my brother and I used to spend in the pool – our biggest “problem” back then was getting called in to eat lunch.
Endless hours playing made-up water games like “shark tag” or racing across the length of the pool with spontaneous rules:
“You’re not allowed opening your eyes . . . ”
“You can only swim with the right side of your body . . .”
Changing the rules as quickly as we made them up.
Well I’ve been kind of living like that these past few days, playing the same games that my brother and I used to play, but with my daughter, Samantha. And just as I did back then, I have no regard for how I look in a bathing suit – no shame or body image dilemmas – and I don’t care how my hair looks. Just simple days of unabashed water fun and uneven tan lines.
Dear Mexico: I love you.
Excellent post, I’m glad you’re getting away from all the *ugh* of adult life. I think back to the summer days of my childhood, when I climbed trees and stalked my neighbors (I was a secret agent, duh) and explored the world on my bike and it’s so hard to replicate that sense of wonderment as an adult. Sigh… But you have reminded me to try.