A Thought: On the Difference Between Growing Up and Growing Old

Growing up and growing old are not synonymous.  One does not have to sacrifice the joy and wonder of childhood as some brutal rite of passage into the adult world.  Some of it will be lost, because it's impossible ever hold on to all of any part of the past, and there will be those who resent you, berate you, for not forgetting how amazing the first cold, clear day of winter can be, how beautiful it is to wish on a star or the numbers of a clock, aligned just so, to be filled, for just that tiny moment, with the hope of endless possibility.  Remember, though, that these bits of magic are only looked down upon by those who let them go in favor of less precious, more fleeting things and regret the empty space in their hearts left behind when they did so.  It is our job to remind them of what the world can be.