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Unadulterated

Pure, unadulterated, flat out enjoyment...spraying fountain on a hot day on the boardwalk.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Ever notice how unadulterated's root word is "adult?" Ever wonder about that? What do you say to children when they say how they can't wait to grow up? Do anything they want? Do you tell them the price of that freedom?

Someone once said that motherhood is like this super secret club and nobody tells you the membership rules until after you join. I think adulthood is like that. Would you have believed anybody who told you the membership rules? Would you have been so anxious to get here, if you had known?

Yes and no.

I tell my daughter, when she says she can't wait to grow up, that adulthood is a lot like childhood. Sometimes we get to choose and sometimes we don't, sometimes we can and sometimes we can't, sometimes we are free and other times someone is looking over our shoulder.

Don't be in a hurry to grow up, I tell her. Enjoy childhood. You'll never get to do it again. I'll never get to see her do it again. It goes much too quickly.

That's why I am so glad to have this moment caught, forever and ever as my daughter would say.

Original © 2005. All images and text exclusive property of Julie Pippert. Not to be used or reproduced.

Copyright 2007 Julie Pippert
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Comments

slow panic said…
what a cutie! they are better off not knowing!! i
le35 said…
I think childhood ought to be loved. There are children with great heartache that seem like mini adults after awhile.
le35 said…
I think childhood ought to be loved. There are children with great heartache that seem like mini adults after awhile.
Gwen said…
It is so hard to imagine the weather being warm enough to put on a suit!

I had no desire to rush out of childhood, but my husband, with his alcoholic parents, couldn't wait to grow up. My oldest daughter doesn't seem in any hurry at all, like me, and I guess I take that as a good sign.
Melissa said…
My kids don't seem to be in a hurry,either. But I'm sure that will change as they get a little older.

Great picture! I love it when we can capture their personalities so well with the camera.
Sukhaloka said…
It's when we're in the process of growing up that we realise that it's good and bad - always was, always is, always will be.
And it's good to know ;).
Anonymous said…
what a picture!! My son sees adulthood as a time when he will have unimaginable powers - like driving or being a photographer. He has a magical view which sounds idealistic to me as an adult, knowing the constraints I face! However, really, his view is just as it should be, because it reflects how he feels about himself and the world - he will grow into capabilities that seem distant now. I hope he keeps some of his magical thoughts to power him up for the obstacles that come to us all. Sometimes I forget about the powers I do have. I am a force to be reckoned with in my desire to love and to do good in this world - it is easy to get humdrum. Adulthood is powerful and Thinker reminds me of that.
Childhood should have fewer cares - and usually does - which makes the pureness of their joys so striking.
S said…
if they only knew, they'd keep their mouths shut.

sigh.
Michele said…
There are parts of childhood I really hated. But the part where someone else took care of me and paid my bills and cooked my meals and cleaned my house and made my bed ... now, that part, I miss : )
we_be_toys said…
Great action shot, and excellent advice on enjoying childhood - where was it I read "youth is wasted on the young"? I don't remember, but I always liked that sentiment.
Liv said…
hot weather? me=jealous!
Kyla said…
I love this photo!!

It goes too fast.
Anonymous said…
Can I be unadulterated? Just for a little while? When nobody is watching?
Beck said…
My mother asked me the other night - when all the kids were sick, when I was terrified that we might have to take the Baby to emergency - if I would still choose to have kids now, knowing. And I think that constant burden of worry is one of the prices of adulthood....
Mad said…
That picture is fantastic. I never remember wanting to be an adult. I'm not even sure I know how the process of becoming one started. At least, it is a club we ease into, thankfully. Well, those of us that are lucky, I guess.
Lawyer Mama said…
Oh how I sometimes wish I could be one again. Kids always think of adulthood in terms of what they'll be able to do without answering to us, don't they?

I love that picture. And the painting effect is wonderful. One perfect moment.
Magpie said…
I do rather wonder when I'm going to grow up.

And I still don't know the membership rules of the motherhood club.

Great picture. Jealous. It is NOT bathing suit season here.
It's one of the things I love most about this year in Norway...I feel like the kids here are not being pushed into adulthood. In Canada, the race is on from the moment those children start to talk. Extra schooling, extra sports. Anything and everything to get them 'ahead'. Ahead of what, I ask? Why are we in such a hurry?

Lovely picture.

Heidi

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