Dirty 30 and Bucket Lists

2012 ushers in my 30th year on the planet, and come November 7th, I will no longer be "twenty-something."  There are still tons of things that I have always wanted to do, but never got there for whatever reason.  I think this milestone birthday is a good instigator.  One of my very best gf's had the same thought and booked a trip to Vegas; she also decided that in each of the 6 months leading up to her 30th birthday in June, she will do something "bad ass."  I will do the same.  So, here's the list:

• Skydiving
• Bungee jumping
• See a game at Wrigley Field
• See a game at Fenway Park
• Attend a Madonna concert
• Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras
• Go to Disney World (this is tentatively my 30th bday trip)
• See Niagara Falls
• Go to Savannah, GA for St. Patrick's Day
• Take an overnight train trip (a la North by Northwest)
• Visit Haight Ashbury in San Francisco
• Go to Nashville and the Grand Ol' Opry
• Visit the Motherlands: Ireland and England
• Learn to Irish Jig

Childish v Childlike

As I sit here in my Fraggle Rock t-shirt and there is a load of laundry going full off Muppets and cartoon shirts, I think about the difference between being childish and being child like (or young at heart). Lots of things have gone down over the past year that have called such definitions into question - based on all of that, I have come to the (semi) conclusion that being childlike is more about a state of mind or approach to life, and being childish is the action of reverting back to that less competent, immature state we found ourselves in many moons ago.

But where do we draw the line? When does it become applicable to tell someone to grow up? Do we mean grow up in the sense of stop watching the Muppet Movie and Thundercats, or is it restricted to our approach to the rest of the world? Can we be a man of a Muppet and still be functional "adults"?

The way I see it, being childlike or young at heart is an approach to life and it may reflect our approach to life as children - do what you love, think what you want, and just be. Nothing in the world to worry about but catching up on cartoons, reading whatever books you felt like (well, maybe that was just me), and being home in time for dinner after your mom hollared down the block.

When "Interview with the Vampire" came out nearly 20 years ago (hello, young Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt AND Christian Slater), I wanted to read the book first. So I did - not because I felt obligated to, but because I wanted to. These days, I feel like I should or must read books before the films to be a part of that "conversation," whether it is "Harry Potter" or whatever. As a child, I didn't feel that pressure or obligation. I did it because I simply wanted to.

I love watching cartoons from my childhood (thanks Hulu), and sometimes cartoons of today (thanks "Phineas and Ferb"), partly because of nostalgia, partly because I want to escape (and they are actually funny and put a smile on my face). I watch Disney movies on a regular basis, maybe because I remember seeing them in the movies, but also because they remain relevant even 50 years later.

So, again - childish v. young at heart. When we consider someone's thought process or actions as "childish" I think we correlate such things to the negative aspects of a child's approach to life. Maybe overly simplistic. Maybe not logical. Maybe selfish. Maybe just total nonsense. We did or thought such simple, illogical, selfish things because we didn't know any better. Usually, as we grow older we learn from such decisions, actions or approaches, and learn that they are silly and simplistic and selfish. But, when we don't care to absorb and learn those things, or simply refuse to acknowledge it, we continue in a cycle of selfish, illogical, overly simplified decisions and actions. Growing up really means embracing the mistakes we made, whether thoughts, actions, words or experiences. We learn from them, we mature, and we become stable, contributing human beings. We become adults in deeds, thoughts and actions; how we treat others. How we embrace them, and ourselves.

So, keep being a (wo)man of a Muppet - learn and grow. Mahna Mahna.