Hi Kids!

Maybe you’ve wondered why I call you “Kids” when I write a blog post . . .

Is it because some of you are young enough to actually be my kids?

Is it because I’m trying to be funny (You know, using that wacky “Crystal-style” sense of humor)? 😉

Well, I guess that’s part of it, but there’s a little more to the story . . .

Several years ago, I decided to go back to college to take some business courses. My own kids had finished school and I figured it was time for Mom to return. I chose to go evenings – so there would be other adults with me. I didn’t want to be “the old lady” in a class of very young students.

The whole thing was quite a wonderful adventure. I met such an interesting and diverse group. Each person brought the richness of his or her life-experience to the classes. It was also rewarding for the teachers. They had an audience who were there by choice and totally engaged in learning (not kids who *had* to go).

Shortly after I started my first semester, I came home from class one night, full of excitement about the course I was taking. I breathlessly recounted the details of the evening to Sir Beads. I talked about the professor, and his fascinating lecture, and how glad I was that I found the book he recommended because “a lot of the other kids hadn’t been able to buy it at their local bookstores”!

Sir Beads immediately started to chuckle. I wasn’t sure why, at first. Then I suddenly realized what I had just said.

I said “KIDS”!

I couldn’t believe it. This was a class of students whose ages ranged from about 30 to 65 years old. NONE of us were “kids”!

I started to giggle. It had been decades since I was in school, and now after all those years, I instinctively described my fellow classmates as “kids”! It was as if I had traveled back in time to a place I’d been before. In my mind, this new group of adult peers had, almost instantly, been transformed into the childhood companions of old. It makes sense though – the situation was similar! We were a group sharing a learning experience – the work, the fun, the studying, the exams – all of it. We had a common bond.

I can tell you I learned a lot during those years when I returned to school. Most important of all, I came to truly understand that the “kid” inside of me would always be there, just under the surface, waiting to pop out with wonder and excitement, at any time!

I guess I always knew that, on some level, but I’d never realized the depth of it.

Remember to nurture your own inner child!

Ok, Kids? 🙂

Hugs,