Freedom To Be An Adult

I was reading the post of a darling fellow Derf, and she was talking about what you should give up in order to be happy. 
This got me thinking.

One of my students (Amanda, I'm looking at yoo) commented that she held me up as an example that adults don't have to be all boring and stuff (her words).  I was tickled.  Really!  This kid is in HIGH SCHOOL and doesn't think I'm boring! 

If you're a kid, please go to Nick.com or something and don't read this.  But if you're an adult, pay attention. 

Think back to when you were a kid.  Any age of kid.  And you asked your parents for something, or to do something.  And they said, "We'll see!"  Didn't that just chap your hide?  You KNEW that was parent-speak for "um. No.  No way."  What if, sometimes, they said, "Heck yeah!  Let's dye your hair purple!  That'll be awesome!"

Would your jaw not hit the GROUND?  And imagine the "really? REALLY?" feeling -- that delicious freedom of "YES."  Imagine asking to go to the zoo one Saturday.  And then dad just stands up, grabs his wallet and keys and says, "Dude.  Excellent suggestion.  Meet you at the car."

Now realize that YOU have that power now.  You are the one who doles out the "we'll see" or the "HOLY CATS, LET'S GO!" 

And what, really, is so hard about saying yes?  If a kid wants purple streaks in their hair, why not?  It'll grow out or wash out.  If a kid wants to have a friend sleep over on a Thursday, would it kill them? What about eating ice cream BEFORE dinner?  What about building a massive snow fort, then covering it with water so it would freeze overnight?  What about painting the inside of their closet with glow-in-the-dark paint?  Or painting their closet door with chalkboard paint?  Or staking all the blackberry bushes into a tunnel to hide in?

What about -- for you -- saying YES sometimes?

How about driving through a parking lot full of Canada geese and honking your horn and chasing them?  (slowly, don't want Goosicide on your record)

What about complimenting that really pretty old woman in the grocery store?  Or maybe just paying somebody else's lunch tab -- someone you don't know -- just to make their day.  It'll cost you $12.  Imagine the mystification and happiness!  Leave a vase of cut flowers at a neighbor's front porch.  Try to bake the biggest loaf of bread your oven will hold.

Why. NOT?

Dye the kids' breakfast eggs blue.

CHOCOLATE MILK in the cereal sometime.

Throw your strong-but-silent husband a surprise party.

Sometimes, the "we'll see" response is just ingrained.  OUR parents never let us _______ , so why should we let our kids do that?"

Because.  It's fun.