Those were the days...& years

Where are you, my childhood days...those days where I happily played.

I was walking down the street today. Two girls giggling at me...not. It was at the two guys behind me. One of the girls was saying, 'hey...your boyfriend's coming.' And the other said, 'no, dont anyhow say ok!', giggling, giggling and still giggling away.

I looked at them, barely ten years of age. Innocent, uninfluenced, untainted by the complexities of life, yet. And as I silently walked away, smiling, I prayed for them. Prayed that they would take along this tinge of innocence with them, take along the courage to follow their hearts, take along the simplest things in life, as they face greater and more complicated challenges ahead of them...

Our yesterdays, we never knew how to hide our emotions. When we saw a guy or a girl we liked, we blushed. When we saw that one we liked with another, we cried. When our friends took our pencils, we told the teacher. When our best friends were snatched away, we wrote them letters telling them we were jealous. When our parents bought us ice-cream, we appreciated and hugged and kissed them (even with ice-cream all over our mouths).

When was the last time you showed your parents affection, much less say 'i love you' to them? When was the last time you told your best friend they mean the world to you?
When was the last time you blushed when you saw the one you loved?
When was the last time you cried those tears when your loved one left you for another?
When was the last time you told your teacher when your pencil was stolen?
ok this one's not so relevant...but when was the last time you let your anger out?

How many times have you smiled and said 'never mind' yet cursed and swore in your hearts?
How often have you held back those tears, those emotions?

We complicate things, because complexities set in as we grow older. We forget the simplicities. The ice-cream man, candy floss, the 10cents sweet, sand castles, sports day...they dont excite us anymore.

As we progress to become civilised beings, we have learnt how to control our emotions. I'm not saying we should just hurl abuse at our irritable collegues or cry when someone hmm...takes our pencil. But as we learn how to hold back certain emotions, we should also learn to let go some.

The next time you see the ah pek selling ice-cream, run towards him like you used to, as a child.
You would be surprised you get an extra scoop.
and if you do, please let me know too.