Little Guy Day

 

Thursday has a lot of meanings for me. It tends to be a pretty heavy workday so I can have a fun weekend, it often meant finding live music or doing some writing, it has a strange connection to food, and for some reason I associate it with pirates… but recently Thursday has become a day for children. And that is what I’ve decided to focus on for this particular day of the week.

When my nephew (son of my “sister by choice”) needed a babysitter, I was hesitant at first, it would mean getting up early and I am certainly not a morning person, but I really only hesitated a second because I love my nephew. So, Thursdays became known as “little guy day” and it’s been that way for a year now.

Watching him grow and turn into his own little person has been such a blessing. I’ve grown to know his quirks and his tells of when he needs a nap. I’ve learned what upsets him and when he’s overwhelmed. I know what brings him joy and I smile because they’re a lot of the same things that make me happy too. Rubber ducks, grilled cheese sandwiches, Irish music. I only see him once, sometimes twice a week, but I realize I’ve had such a big influence on him. Some directly, some because his mother practically grew up at my house and I influenced her. I’ve certainly taught him a lot, but then I realize, he’s had a huge impact on me too.

You can learn a lot from kids. They don’t know what society thinks is normal; all they know is what is normal for them. Imagination is allowed to run wild, naps are the norm for when they’re grumpy and need a break, cuddling a stuffed animal or wanting their mom is an acceptable method of soothing. They don’t know if it’s weird to get super excited over a tiny thing. They don’t know if it’s weird to want to see the same movie or listen to the same book 100 times in a row. They don’t know if it’s weird that they liked this food yesterday but today it just doesn’t taste good. And we just roll with it as adults because; they’re kids, that’s what they do. What if, instead of giving them a pass because they’re kids, we gave it to them simply because they’re human? And what if we gave a pass to each other because, kid or adult, we’re all human?

Humans are allowed to get excited about things that seem boring or insignificant to others. We’re allowed to enjoy the same thing over and over because it brings us comfort. We are allowed to change our minds about what foods we like. We are allowed to take a nap or a break when we get overwhelmed. We’re allowed to want our mom or a favorite stuffed animal when we’re upset. We’re even allowed to play. Right…?

We should be allowed all these things, but I’ve found it’s not the case for adults. We’re told to grow up or get over it. We’re allowed to do all these things as kids, it becomes our norm, part of our identity, but then we’re expected to just grow out of it. Well, maybe we shouldn’t. Maybe we’d all be a little happier if we held onto that childhood innocence, creativity, and determination. Maybe if we held onto what made being a kid great, we’d be better adults.

My cousin is starting school this fall, and she’ll be getting off the bus at my house once a week. Ironically, it happens to also be Thursdays. So, my Thursdays are now officially for the kids in my life. I will watch them grow, teach them new things, let them teach me things, I will smile as they find joy in discovering this world we live in, and I will encourage my inner child to make an appearance more often. I hope you have some kids in your life who remind you being “childish” isn’t always a bad thing. I hope you have days full of pirate ships and superheroes and watching Disney movies cuddled on the couch, whether there are kids involved or not. I, for one, will be looking forward to all the adventures to come in my “little guy days” and now my “little girl days” otherwise known as Thursdays.