Today as I lay in bed and watched dark turn to light, my mind drifted back about four decades when Saturday morning meant two things: Mom making us a nice breakfast and Saturday morning cartoons. These were standards we could count on. Breakfast would be something like French toast or pancakes and cartoons were Scooby Doo, the Flintstones, The Jetsons and a few other favorites. Early animation at its best.
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After a hearty meal and a couple hours of cartoons and probably some School House Rock, it was time to let the rest of our day unfold.
Those carefree Saturdays are long gone behind me, but the memories apparently still linger. The deeper question is what made me think of that now, today, after all these years? So, as an excuse to lay in bed a bit longer, I pondered that. And here is what I’ve come up with…
As a kid, we usually can’t wait to grow up. The whole string of childhood years is marked by “I can’t wait to be ___ years old!” or “I can’t wait until I grow up!”, at which point we do mature and quickly wish we were kids again. Responsibility is a tough word, both to spell and to live with. Perhaps, at some subliminal level, my subconscious is seeking a break from all this adulting stuff and wishes to spend a little time in that easier era where the weight on my shoulders wasn’t quite so heavy.
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The other thought is this: we are living in uncertain, scary times. To a lesser degree, so do most kids. So much is out of a child’s control, they are at the mercy of so much we adults don’t usually stop to consider. There is so much they don’t understand yet and so much they worry about. The questions we adults are asking during the pandemic are similar to what kids routinely ask. Granted, the weight of those questions differ greatly, but the emotions are familiar.
So could my mental stroll back to youth been another subconscious break from the pandemic stress? Could I have been connecting with the child of my past, where we can share questions rooted in uncertainty and worry, and see that it all worked out back then, so I can assure myself it will probably work out now? Back then, and through the years, I’ve had to reinvent myself and find a new normal when the old ones were ripped away. It was tough, scary, rough, and stressful, but I managed, took those leaps of faith, and landed on my feet. This would be no different.
The kid that lived for Saturday morning cartoons and French toast is the same kid that stumbles to the coffee pit after letting the dogs out, the one who grabs the morning devotionals instead of Scooby Doo, and plans my day around an appointment calendar instead of mom’s agenda.
Ryan Jo Summers 