Holding on to youth

I'm Feeling: excited to see my family this weekend
Background Noise: Child of God by Todd Proctor

So that is my little sister, Megan, and Mark - being weird together. That's a stuffed frog Meg is holding, in case you can't tell - it belongs to Mark. For some reason, that frog attracts people to itself - "adults" and children alike. Clearly, Meg and Mark are enjoying the frog here - and almost every kid that has walked into our living room manages to find the frog. This weekend, our 2 1/2 year old friend Timmy played with the frog a lot - and it was about the same size as he is!
We keep the frog in our living room - which may seem weird, since Mark and I are married, "adult" professionals with no kids of our own. But we try hard to hold on to that playful side of life that tends to get lost as you get older. For example - our living room is painted orange - pumpkin orange, and our couches are denim. We figure - if you have to spend time, money and energy on things like paint and furniture (not the MOST exciting investments), then you should at least have fun with it. Our basement has a ping pong table, foosball table, and air hockey table, as well as a corner full of workout equipment. We have no beef with getting older, or behaving responsibly or anything like that. It just seems like it's a good idea to try to keep in touch with your youthfulness - since every day I'm alive, there are more and more people out there younger than I am.
A quote I appreciate very much, from books that Mark and I full-out admit we LOVE - Harry Potter. "Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels, but old men are guilty if they forget what it is to be young." Words of wisdom from Albus Dumbledore. I'm certain I'll be blatantly harrassed for that, but I think it's so profound!
So here's to staying young at heart - so that the best years of your life can always be ahead of you!!
(oh, and my scientific experiment this weekend went phenomenally well - although I substituted Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream for Cherry Garcia. The cold definitely had a hold on me on Saturday and Sunday - but I beat it into submission! I highly recommend that regime!)