Being A Kid.

Remember when you were little and everything was carefree and fun? You had all the freedom in the world to just be yourself and imagine that you could be and do anything. You would look up to those who were older and would always try to be like them. Looking back now, its the best feeling in the world and when you grow older, you tend to forget what its like to be a kid again. That's just what i felt yesterday when i decided to take a step back in time.

The McDonald's Playplace. One of thee greatest places every kid wants to go to play and let loose. I know that i always enjoyed my trips to McDonald's just so i could go play in the playplace. Mom's rule was always to eat my food before i went off and ventured on my own into the magical wonders of the playplace. Once i would scarf down my food, i would sprint and start climbing up the huge, or what seemed to be huge at the time, platforms. I would climb so fast up there that once i was there, i felt utterly free and i then could imagine i was anything: astronaut, pilot, jungle traveler, or anything else creative i would dream up. Then looking down from the high heights of the playscape, i would then imagine the ground as being lava and i couldn't come down until i had to return down to go home. Now, i don't know if I'm just the only one who dreams these little escapades up, but from what i experienced yesterday, I'm not the only one.

Our softball team decided to stop and eat after our tough loss against the University of Ligget, obviously one of the places being McDonald's. As we all piled in the fast food restaurant, I spotted the glorious playplace 15 feet away. Instantaneously, my eyes grew big and i knew that i was going to be spending my time in there (note that I'm 18, so this probably isn't the best idea). The one rule i didn't have to follow was eat all my food before playing, because i was planning on eating later at Boston Market. So i grabbed LeeAnne and we darted off to the wondrous place of fun. We obviously struggled a tad getting up those little (funny, right? remember when i said i thought they were huge?) platforms but we eventually made our way to the top and explored the general area. Among our exploration, we came across these two little boys, around the age of 7, who were playing with their kids meal toy and making those "zooming" noises a boy would make. They spotted us and then presumed to look at us curiously. From the looks on their faces, you could tell that they rarely see two adult girls ever in their territory. If you have ever noticed though, little kids will easily grow to older kids who are willing to be like them, so they had no problems accepting us and considering us "little kids." Before we knew it, we were climbing those platforms, crawling through the tunnels, and sliding down that winding slide numerous times. I again experienced that feeling of complete freedom to be whatever i wanted to be in that playplace, but also doing what the other kids wanted me to do.

It's funny how quick they attach themselves to you. By the end of our dining, i had been looked up to by several little kids, all who loved the fact that by just playing with them, they felt comfortable to be themselves and not let anything bother them that was before. That feeling is hard to lose, especially when little kids can have that big of an effect on you!

Going away from that experience, i know i made those kids day by just playing with them and i couldn't feel any better about that. Being a kid is something i miss being, but i know that i will always have a part of me that will want to be "little" and carefree. So here's to being a kid! Don't let the kid inside of you ever go away :)


http://http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/home.html