The Mystery and Magic of Young Minds

I love reading other people's blogs. Some of them bring back such memories. I just finished reading Clever Girl Goes Blog: My magic., and I was reminded of some of the magic I thought I had possessed when I was young.

First of all, my cousin and I thought we could walk on air. I mean, we would take two small steps into the air so that we were hovering only a mere few inches off the ground- enough to be able to walk through the house without mom realizing we weren't actually napping as we were supposed to be, and were actually stealing our way to the cookie jar. I suppose we had just gotten to the point where we knew all the right places to step, where the floor wouldn't give way just a bit. To this day, my cuz and I still talk about how we could 'walk on air', and get away with anything.

At school, my bff Nicole and I had read a book, which talked about water that was all powerful, and any who drank it possessed the ability to do anything. So, we'd go down to the candy machines, and instead of water, it would be magic smarties that would give us our strength. In the middle of class, when we were having trouble doing something, we would reach in to our desk, exchange a look with the other, and pop our magic 'pill'. And, somehow, things didn't seem so hard.

The kids from my little town would gather in the "kids fort", a cleared area among the bush out behind the old horse racetrack, and we would convince all the younger kids that we had the power to do anything to anyone we liked. We would put a hex on the caregiver that yelled at us to get out of the bushes. We would 'bless' the house of our favourite old lady who would always have time to give us some fresh lemonade and cookies. We'd have initiations where the little one would have to go to the "forbidden area" (the mill behind our house) and put one foot inside the door, before running away, scared to pieces of the terrors we'd explained existed behind that door. We sure were awful sometimes.

And the imagination! When we played hide and go seek, my friends and I would go and fight our way into the biggest closet in the house. Past old clothes, helmets, bins, and finally past my dad's old motorcycle helmet and leather jacket, we entered a world apart from our own. Where we'd have adventures for hours, especially when my brother was the 'seeker'. It was, after all, a very good hiding spot!

Mmm, we did have some good times back then. And, now that I've entered the world of decisions, bills, and heartbreak, what I wouldn't do to have a little of that magic back.