I recently read book #5 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth. It focuses on Greg Heffley crossing the threshold of puberty. As usual, Greg Heffley and his bestfriend, Rowley, cracked me up!
Here’s one funny snippet – which also made me realize (though embarrassing) that Wimpy Kid and I share something in common:
One time, Greg’s dad was reprimanding Greg for not taking out the recycling bin. Here’s what he had to say:
“If I did forget, it wasn’t my fault. I have a really great system for remembering things.
You know how some people leave notes for themselves when they need to remember something? Well, I think that’s a lot of work, and it’s a waste of paper too.
So let’s say I’m in bed and Mom walks into my room and tells me I have to bring a permission slip to school in the morning. I don’t get out of bed and write a note. I just throw one of my pillows across the room. Then when I wake up in the morning and go to walk out of the door, I see the pillow and think, “Hey, what’s this pillow doing here?
Then I remember, “Oh yeah, I‘ve to bring a permission slip to school.” See what I mean? It’s totally foolproof.”
Guess what? Sometimes, I do something like that too! Not exactly throwing pillows but let’s say a thought comes into my mind in the middle of the night and I’m too lazy to get up. I put my alarm clock out of place so when I wake up, just like Wimpy Kid, I would ask myself - why is my alarm clock not in its usual place?! Then I realize I need to remember something! But I can’t say it’s foolproof for me. Yes, 100% I know I should recall something but it’s not all the time I’m able to recall what that something is. Haha…
But here’s my paperless, foolproof way – still putting items out of place but this time when I’m out of bed. Haha… Let’s say I need to order water the next morning. This means I need to order the water as soon as I wake up so the store can deliver it within an hour before I leave for office. Before I sleep, I put the empty water container right beside the bathroom door so that first thing in the morning, when I step into the bathroom, I see the water container and I know what to do right away! Haha…
And here’s my last paperless, foolproof reminder – let’s say I need to bring something important the next day. What I do is place that item at the foot of the main door so I won’t miss it on my way out! Haha… See, Wimpy Kid’s and my methods are way better than written notes. You may forget to read notes but you won’t definitely miss out displaced objects that are blocking your way. Haha…
I was recently organizing my photo library when I saw these interesting pictures of kids I randomly took in past trips. It reminded me of child-like traits which we should preserve (if we still have any trace of them) or re-adopt if we’ve already forgotten them.
1. Curiosity. When we were kids, we’re always curious and we’re not afraid to experiment. We don’t think about succeeding or failing. We just do it even if sometimes it takes several attempts. The most important thing is - it’s no big deal if we don’t get the result we’re expecting because in our simple mind, there are so many other things to do and explore. As grown ups, when we try to do something and fail, we think we’re not cut out for it and begin losing confidence in ourselves, preventing us from trying other new things.
I remember passing by this kid along a side street in Taal, Batangas on a mid-afternoon. While everyone was having siesta, she was out in the street trying to burn a hole into a leaf by using a magnifying lens. I actually remember doing that too as a kid! Haha… What else do I remember doing as a kid? Tracking ant trails in trees in search of the queen ant (it usually resides in a cocoon made from dried leaves), cutting a lizard’s tail to see if it really has its own life (haha!) and making giant red and black ants fight (the blacks always win!) among many other crazy things.
2. “I can” mindset. As kids, we think we can do anything and everything. We don’t get easily intimidated. We see a ball in a court and instinctively, we’ll try to shoot the ball into the ring without thinking if we have enough strength and force to throw the ball given the distance. As adults, before we do anything, we usually process the pros and cons – not that we shouldn’t - but not up to the point of analysis-paralysis.
I saw this kid in the plaza while waiting for the town procession. He can barely reach the pedals and the handle bar but look at how serious he was trying to drive the bike!
3. All out in having fun. As kids, when we play, we run as if there is no tomorrow. There’s adrenaline rush everytime the “it” runs after you. The feeling is a weird combination of exhilaration and fear (of being tagged by the “it”). At the end of the game, if you get tagged or you lose, you’ll tell your playmates that you’ll beat them the next time but you never hold grudges against them. You know it’s just a game and more than winning, it’s the togetherness which makes it fun. For me, nothing, not even an expensive toy, can beat the fun of playing with other kids.
As adults, we sometimes forget to have fun. We treat our activities as obligations. We think that we need to spend to have fun. But guess what? Fun can be cheap and it can even be free. :)
I also saw these kids in the plaza while waiting for the town procession. Look at their faces – their raw emotions – it’s as if they’re trying to beat each other for some chance of a lifetime. But look closely, it’s just a toy plane they’re chasing after! :)
As we grow older, I think all the more we should embrace child-like traits. Life shouldn’t be too complicated if we only think like children. :)
