crackers and hot chocolate

my friend darcie told me tonight that sometimes i remind her of a little boy.

at first i was tempted to be offended. after all, i haven’t dedicated myself to goofing off for 23 years only to be mistaken for a little boy. or have i? in a psych class at briercrest we took a survey, and it revealed that i was one of the top two students in my class for highest degree of Positive Cognitive Stimulation. it sounded pretty exciting.

i found out it means that i’m quickly and easily excited by almost anything. particularly shiny objects, i’d imagine. kind of like a cat and a laser pointer. simple things have always entertained me, but even more-so when i was actually a child. there was never a more thrilling moment than when i had just borrowed a new hardy boys book from the sault ste. marie public library and knew that i would secretly stay up most of the night (which for me, then, was probably until 10:00) reading in bed with my flashlight and eating crackers and drinking hot chocolate.

in such a starkly uncomplicated life, i see a side of me i like, a me that is still here but only comes out to play when i'm not preoccupied with stressing out. in those days, i was an adventure-seeker, finding intrigue and heroic potential in everything. the simplest activities took on a mythical flair, and as i read my book i really was an ingenious detective with my friends chet, joe and frank as we saved damsels in distress and stopped cruel jewel thieves from destroying civilization as we know it.

now it seems like more of a compliment than anything when someone says i remind them of a child – i think i’d even like to remind myself more of a child sometimes. children seem to have the upper hand when it comes to recognizing life in all its fullness and potential. in fact, Jesus said that anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. i think that means that the Kingdom is pretty exciting business. perhaps even something worth getting out crackers and hot chocolate for.