Calling for Kool-Aid

Where does the time go?

I recall as a young kid me and my friends playing for countless hours (or so it seemed anyway) outdoors in the back fields or other surrounding areas of our town house. Dodgeball, tag, cops and robbers or even creating our own Olympic games of long jump or running track around a row of side-by-side homes, someone from the group staying back to clock our speed.

“Red rover, red rover.” We’d call for more time to laugh and play.

We always dreamed about growing up and learning to drive and making money; never did we give much thought to the jobs and responsibilities that came with those things. A break for a refreshing drink was clearly more appealing than the thought of paying taxes and hydro bills.

That anthropomorphic pitcher dude filled with the fruit juice, the mascot of Kool-Aid. Many times did I cherish his presence bursting onto the scene; because to me, not only did he represent a refreshing quench to thirst, but more fun; more time.

What happened? Where is the Kool-Aid Man now? The fun is still here, but maybe a little more distant, a little more rigid. The time, it seems a little more tight.

Fun isn’t meant to be scheduled, it should be everywhere in everything we do. I grew up, but I don’t need to leave the fun behind; just need to remind myself of that. We can’t let the craziness of society blind us to the good times that remain. “Red rover, red rover” may be a little different now, but the innocence of laughter should not be lost. 

The daily quench for a little Kool-Aid… yes daily. It’s allowed. It’s time to stop saying “young at heart”, and just be, young at heart. 

There is no need to wait for more time.