Hello all! And Happy New Year 2024!! Or as I like to say HAPPY NEW QUEER!!!! 🌈🌈🌈❤️❤️😂
I do hope that it is going well for all of you, thus far.
This will not be a New Year’s post as I’ve done in the past. This post is diving into being an adult, as the post suggests. But even more than that, I am going to discuss bringing back our childhoods. That’s right. Because you can, you know.
I know you’re all saying, “but wait a minute, Derek. You cannot go back in time to your childhood, like there is some sort of time machine.”
And you would be correct about that. How I wish we could time travel. Perhaps one day. However, although you cannot do it via time travel or in your physical body, you can in your mind, heart and soul.
Let me go back to the title of this post and reiterate how much it can REALLY and TRULY suck being an adult.
The bills you have to pay.
The responsibilities, ESPECIALLY if you are a parent.
Trying to make ends meet.
Having a job.
LOOKING for a job – so you can be a responsible adult who pays those horrible bills, takes care of their children, and trying to make ends meet.
Paying those HORRID taxes!
Paying rent.
Buying these expensive-ass groceries.
Keeping up with your car payment.
Keeping up with car repairs!!!!
Maintaining the overall care of your car.
The expensive gas that goes into your car!!
You get the picture.
And you are probably depressed right about now.
But wait! Then there’s … DEATH.
Over the years, how many times have we seen our childhood icons pass away before our very eyes. And I don’t know about you, but with the passing of each and every actor, actress or musician or just public figures associated with my childhood, I say that another part of my childhood has just died, too.
Sadly, you watch as your parents and caregivers pass away, which can be extremely hard for many of us.
Of course nothing or no one lasts forever, and the (quickly) passing time shows us that. And it also shows us that all of us are indeed mortals and will not be here forever. And that we are all getting old and one day we will all… well. You know.
Okay. Now, I am sure you are all TRULY depressed at this moment!
Because it SUCKS to grow up and get old and pass away.
But how come you can’t get some of that past back? Those Golden Years? Those fun times as a kid?
How do we know it is not actually good for our mental health?
Let me address the whole ‘you can’t live in the past’ BS. Hell, you can do whatever you want to, as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody, particularly yourself.
Returning to one’s childhood is different for different people.
Perhaps it is running and playing in the rain. (I hate rain, so that wouldn’t be me.) Tee hee
Or maybe it is playing board games.
Maybe it is playing other childhood games like Red Rover or Hide ‘n’ Go Seek, fun outdoor games like that.
Skateboarding, which is now rollerblading or bike riding, which by the way adults still do!
You see, children love to PLAY! And be loud and free. We, as adults, “grow” out of that and/or grow up, which we adults SHOULD grow up. But we lose our spontaneity and freedom and imagination. We inhibit ourselves. We now realize that the whole world is watching us and is expecting us to be grown up and have all the answers. To be almost perfect. And to definitely be responsible, but again, we lose that spontaneity.
We also lose that wonder and amazement about our world and surroundings. For example, a drive to the grocery store is automatic, boring and mundane. A chore, bore and snore. Something we HAVE to do. However, why not take the time to REALLY look at your surroundings on that trip to the store? Forget about traffic. Forget about what you need to pick up from the store. Forget about the potential crowds at the store. Forget about the bills and responsibilities, for once. And just be. Take a really good look at your neighborhood as if you are seeing it for the first time.
And while you’re at the store, take a good look at that, too! Have fun with it. Make it a game!
I see why people get pets. Talk about a childlike wonder in watching your pet grow and playing with your pet, even with all of the responsibility (and cost) of caring for one. I want another dog SO badly, by the way.
Diet!! Oh boy, we are all so OBSESSED with eating “right.” Eating our vegetables, losing weight, cutting certain foods from our diet, etc. Well, how about for once just eating like a child? I am not suggesting doing this all the time, but every now and then take a break from your normal eating routine and eat that candy or potato chips or chicken nuggets. Whatever you ate as a child. And of course, some of us already do this. 🤣
But perhaps take a break from the “adult” eating and indulge. Or as some people call it, their “cheat day.”
What is Derek doing to recapture his childhood/youth???
One way I have been doing this is through MUSIC!!
By now, you all should know how much music means to me. Whether it is music I listen to or music I can literally play myself on an instrument, music has always and WILL ALWAYS be extremely important to me.
We will start with the music I listen to.
Girl!!! It’s all about the 70s and 80s and yes, the 90s, too. But if we are talking childhood, then that would be more 70s and 80s. And if you REALLY know me, I absolutely CANNOT stand the music of today. Or a lot of the artists. YECK! They. Are. HORRIBLE! I don’t care how many people worship them. And I will not name names. But let’s just say that I do not worship at their alter. Now, I do have a few exceptions, very few. But to me, there’s nothing like music from the 70s and 80s.
With regard to that Golden Era of musique, I am not the only one who feels that way.
After all, if you are a Gen Xer like moi, you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about, because we were lucky, blessed, privileged – all the positive things – to have grown up with the music we did!!!
Moving on to the music I play on my instruments.
Once again, if you really know me, then you know I can play several musical instruments. My main ones are the trumpet, which I started on; the clarinet (mine is broken now and I MUST get it repaired!!!); the flute; and the alto saxophone.
And I still have SCORES and SCORES (pun intended) of sheet music from my past, especially when I was in junior high, high school and college. And yes, I do pick up my trumpet every now and then and relive the good old days of playing in bands of the glorious past!
Christmastime finds me playing the greats of my previous band era, particularly when I was in low school. (High school)! LOLOL
Next up: NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS!!
I did an entire post on this back in 2021.
It think it was during the pandemic starting in 2020, that I returned to my love of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. When I was a child of the 70s, I devoured the series, starting from the very first one of both. And by the time my brother came along in ’78, my parents were going to Toys ‘r’ Us to get his Pampers.
And while they were purchasing his Pampers, I would always saunter over to the book section and browse the wonderful mystery series. And they basically had the ENTIRE series, which at that time, went up to about 54 or 55. And I began purchasing and collecting each and every one of them.
It wasn’t long before I had amassed quite a stack of them, hell a whole bookshelf’s worth!
And when I wasn’t buying them in Washington, D.C., I would go to the Anson County Public Library and check them out!
I was OBSESSED!!
Then the TV series came out in 1977, starring Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy, and Parker Stevenson as Frank Hardy, and Shaun Cassidy as Joe Hardy. I was THRILLED!!!!
Returning to them in 2020, I started reordering them, picking up where I left off in the late 50s. I took about a year break from ordering and reading them. And I have restarted recently. I am now well into the mid 80s!! And there are over 120 of them in all!
I cannot talk about Nancy and the boys without bringing up the Three Stooges.
Again, you can thank the pandemic of 2020 for restarting this one. I started rewatching on YouTube, and remembered how HIGH-LARIOUS they were/are!!!
The next thing I knew I was gorging the ENTIRE series again, like a child. But it didn’t stop there. Because YouTube kept snatching them away (licensing, I suppose), I decided to order the entire series on DVD. So, big FU to YouTube!!
So, I can watch whenever I want. And after putting the series back up on YouTube and it was up for a while, they have now snatched it again! Thank Goddess for my DVD’s!
The Stooges have gotten me through dark times during this pandemic and beyond. Heck, they’re on in the background now!! Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk! 🤣😂😂😂
And fortunately, MeTV shows two hours of Stooges on Saturdays, starting at 6 p.m.!
I have also discovered I am not the only Stooge fan. Several of my friends are, too. There is a fansite on Facebook that I am a member of, and there are so many fans there of ALL ages! People in their 60s and 70s (and I’m sure beyond) admit to their love of the Stooges and how they STILL watch!
When I was a young’un, I focused on the crazy antics of Curly, and Moe’s bossiness, and Shemp’s silliness. However, these days, I’m a Larry Fine fan. Rewatching now, I see just how funny he really was. And, once again, others agree. Other fans are rewatching Larry and developing a whole new appreciation for the “Stooge in the middle.”
I cannot continue this post without giving honorable mention to my love of One Life to Live, which I was introduced to in my childhood. Actually, soap operas in general were introduced to me – by my grandmother Costella, of course – during my childhood.
It really started with Days of Our Lives and Another World, and then I began focusing and gorging myself on All My Children and General Hospital. Then I began paying attention to One Life to Live at the height of the Viki/Niki stuff in 1985! And I have been re-hooked ever since.
I did a blog post on the soaps recently. See the link below:
In summation, I must say that with all the tumult and tragedy going on in the world, with the CONSTANT wars and us being forced to take sides, and the economy and rising gas and food prices, and POLITICS, which has become rather sickening, as well as the ENDLESS mass shootings that NO ONE seems to be really doing anything about – I can see why I am now returning to my childhood. It is just safer.
The 70s and 80s TV!!! HELLO!!!!!! So MANY iconic TV shows, too numerous to even mention!! (I STILL pretend I’m bionic, and I STILL think of myself as one of the Angels!!! And I DEFINITELY STILL SPIN LIKE WONDER WOMAN!!!!) 🤣🤣🤣 Let’s face it, the television shows and music of yesteryear were GOLDEN, CREATIVE, AUTHENTIC, MEMORABLE, AND ICONIC!
The shit of today, not so much.
And I gain SO MUCH from reliving my childhood! I am happier and at peace, even if being an adult overall still really SUCKS!!! 🤣🤣🤣
Before you leave, PLEASE check out My Derek Store. You never know what you’ll find. 😉
That’s it for today. And since we have been talking about revisiting our childhood, please come back next week when we delve into HEALING our childhood! So, stay tuned! Until then, please be safe and mentally well!
DEREK’S DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional, neither am I giving any medical or legal advice. If you are seeking help from a doctor or an attorney, please consult said professionals. These are my personal thoughts and feelings on the subjects discussed, and my blog is my own personal experiences and journey with mental imbalance. Thanking you in advance!
I do not own the copyright to any songs or videos listed here.
AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER: There are products on this page. By clicking on the links, you will be redirected to that page at no cost to you. However, I will receive compensation if you purchase something (which I hope you do 😊).
