Skip to main content

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
Also blogging at:
Using My Words
Julie Pippert REVIEWS: Get a real opinion about BOOKS, MUSIC and MORE
Julie Pippert RECOMMENDS: A real opinion about HELPFUL and TIME-SAVING products
Moms Speak Up: Talking about the environment, dangerous imports, health care, food safety, media and marketing, education, politics and many other hot topics of concern.

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

Popular posts from this blog

Cancer's Calling Card

Foreword: I'm not a medical person, or any kind of expert. This post shouldn't be taken as God's word carved in stone by Moses. In other words, don't consider it to be any kind of authority or use it to treat, diagnose, or select medications. Do your own research and talk to your doctor, an actual expert, who, you know, went to medical school and stuff. This post is merely my best understanding of cancer and cancer treatment and prevention, as related to our situation, based on what I've learned from reading and talking to doctors. Author's Note: If you aren't interested in the cancer discussion and the things I learned, and only want to know the outcome of our appointment with the oncologist yesterday, skip to the end. I've divvied this up by sections, so go to the last section. What would you do if one day a postcard arrived in the mail to warn you that sometime in the next three years you would be diagnosed with cancer? Would you believe it? Change an...

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Quorum

After being confronted with written evidence, Julie admits that she is a total attention whore. In some things, in some ways, sometimes I look outward for validation of my worth and existence. I admit it. It's my weak spot, my vanity spot . If you say I am clever, comment on a post, offer me an award, mention me on your blog, reply to a comment I left on your blog, or in any way flatter me as a writer...I am hopelessly, slavishly devoted to you. I will probably even add you to my blogroll just so everyone can see the list of all the cool kids who actually like me . The girl, she knows she is vain in this regard , but after much vanity discussion and navel-gazing , she has decided to love herself anyway, as she is (ironically) and will keep searching for (1) internal validation and (2) her first person . Until I reach a better point of self-actualization, though, may I just say that this week you people have been better than prozac and chocolate (together, with a side of white choc...

In defense of vanity...I think

Do you have one of those issues where you argue with yourself? Where you just aren't sure what you actually think because there are so many messages and opinions on the topic around you? I have more than one like this. However, there is one topic that has been struggling to the top of my mind recently: vanity and perceived vanity. Can vanity be a good thing? Vanity has historically been truly reviled. Vanity is number seven of the Seven Deadly Sins. It's the doppleganger of number seven on the Seven Holy Virtues list: humility. There are many moralistic tales of how vanity makes you evil and brings about a spectacular downfall. Consider the lady who bathed in the blood of virgins to maintain her youth. Google Borgia+vanity and find plenty. The Brothers Grimm and Disney got in on the act too. The Disney message seems to be: the truly beautiful don't need to be vain. They are just naturally eye-catchingly gorgeous. And they are all gorgeous. Show me the Reubenesque Princess. ...