Remember being ten? When life was fresh and easy and filled with simple pleasures?
We were light as a feather when we were ten! We turned cartwheels and skipped and hopped for no other reason than because we could.
At ten, the present moment unfolded naturally. We just were and it just was. We were a part of “all that is” and our ten-year-old hearts knew it!
It was a time when we were sure about where we belonged in the world, and what was expected of us. We were satisfied to accept each day as it came. Most of us had no idea of what the future held nor did we care!
Oh we had our little setbacks. We laughed and we cried, but either way, we were real and true to ourselves. Why? Because we didn’t know any different.
We were traveling light – in a fresh, new world.
- Me at ten, peeling the world’s largest potato!
This is is me at ten. As you can see, I’m wearing an outfit that doesn’t match. The skirt was red plaid and the sweater was blue and white plaid. Did I care? Of course not. It was my most comfortable outfit, and I remember wearing it often.
I was at my grandparent’s house when this picture was taken, and I had just learned how to peel potatoes. I remember being happy about that. I was capable and I was making a contribution. Grandad even got out the camera, so I must have been peeling pretty impressively.
But, alas, like everything else, the thrill of potato peeling eventually wore off (probably later that night). So that today, the only thrill I get around potatoes is when they happened to be mashed with lots of gravy sitting on my plate.
Still, what if we were to take that essence of being ten and incorporate into our everyday lives. If we could somehow conjure up that feeling of having every possibility open to us — unjaded and shining — and with all the time in the world to explore!
What if we could just look at life through the uncomplicated eyes of our ten-year-old selves — maybe we’d remember how it was when we were experts at life — before we grew up and lost our way.
I say we go peel some potatoes? I will if you will!
Until next time . . . I love you
Linda Vernon Humor 
I really needed to hear this. My G-maw also taught me to peel potatoes. Thank you for reminding me of a fond memory…
Ah! Grandma’s are the best, Maryisdra! So glad you liked it and I’m happy you came by. 😀
I was playing Tricial Pursuit in a pub on Sunday, one queiiton was “Statictically, what is the safest age of life” The answer was ten.
Barring any potato peeling mishaps
Terrible spelling again…I must brush up on that.
What a huge coincidence Joe! How about that?
Ha ha! I’m glad to see you’ve taken this post to heart and even reverted back to your ten-year-old spelling too! I’m touched! 😀
I’ll have to revert to two years old and wear a nappy if you make me wet myself again
Hahahaha! oops now I need a nappy!
SO cute Linda! I love your outfit that didn’t match. I look back on childhood movies and I’m always like “What was I wearing?!” so cute.
Hahah I love how the excitement of peeling potatoes wore off after that night. So true.
Hi Lily!!! I think I wore a lot of unmatching outfits too. I remember one time a girl told me my outfit didn’t match and I thought, what does she mean by “matching”? Haha! I was a fourth grader too. I needed to be in special ed when it came to matching I think! 😀 (I never liked the girl that said that and still don’t to this day!) ha!
Haha! I don’t like her either. You can tell her I said that. 😉
When I saw her once at a reunion, she was really rude to me. But my brother was best friends with her husband before she met him, so her husband and I talked about old times that she didn’t know anything about of course which REALLY made her mad! HA HA! Sometimes life is good like that! 😀
Hah that’s awesome! I can’t believe she was rude to you after all those years. She was obviously jealous of your amazing style back then. And clearly still jealous to this day!
I should have worn an amazing red plaid skirt and blue plaid sweater combo to the reunion! Gosh I hate it when I miss and opportunity like that! 😦
I was peeling potatoes Sunday night.
And yeah, I enjoyed it.
Which doesn’t surprise me one bit! 😀
Ten was an awesome, wonderful age. I loved it so much that when I became a summer camp counselor I opted for a bunk of ten year old girls. I might not have been the best role model; I remember leading my daring campers on a raid of the boys’ camp.
It was great to be ten again.
Oh I would have loved to be in your cabin, Ronnie! I feel sorry for summer campers who never get to “raid!” That’s the whole point of camp IMHO! HA! 😀
It was also an age when booger jokes were considered “a nice ice breaker.”
Love the post, Linda!
Hahahah! An ice breaker! Oh that is sooo true! And I’m so glad you liked this Hey Look! 😀
Doesn’t everything seem like an adventure at 10? I remember being so excited just to rollerblade around The Lake or to play outside when it rained. Maybe the reason peeling potatoes isn’t as fun at 10 as it is at 30 + is because we get used to it and it become mundane. Maybe we can live like our 10 year old selves if we just push ourselves to do new things and constantly explore.
For instance, I might have to “explore” this gourmet box of chocolate that someone left at the office. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeyum!
Hahahah! What this world needs is more adult roller blading! In fact, I vow here and now to never again peel a potato unless I’m wearing rollar blades and eating a box of gourmet chocolates eeeeeyum!!
Ten is, now that I think about it, the best age, hands down. It’s still innocent and fun but you’re not babied, you’re allowed to explore. I remember the excitement of that age and not having any major responsibility other than making my bed! Haha!
That picture is a treasure! I’m glad that moment was documented – peeling potatoes, ahhh…. so simple. Great post! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Haha! I think the only responsibility I had at that age was making my bed too! I do remember my grandmother giving me a quarter to clean out her jewelry box. Gosh I loved doing that. I had the most wonderful grandparents a kid could ever have! 😀 And in the picture I’m reminded that they had that plastic on the wall right next to the refrigerator the whole 32 years they lived in that house. And I nobody ever questioned the reason for that! Ha! 😀
I noticed the plastic, too. I figured it was for keeping the splatter off the wall. 32 years of protection! LOL!!
Linda, maybe we really are related because I remember cleaning out my grandmother’s jewelry box, too! I also used to separate the pins for her curlers and one time I even designed a little cardboard box for the pins. haha! Such sweet innocent times. I like taking these trips down Memory Lane with you. 🙂
Really Lisa? How about that? I would say we had the same grandma only mine didn’t use rollers, I think she used bobby pins. She wore her hair in a bun and it was curled around her face. (She was really beautiful!).
I love to think of you designing a little cardboard box for your grandma’s pins! What a sweet little granddaughter you were. I wish I would have thought to do that! Atho I did once carve a bar of ivory soap into a duck for her. (She thought it was a car — I think my soap carving abilities were about like my drawing abilities!)
My grandma also used to save the white cardboard cards that nylons were wrapped around for me to draw on. I remember she had a big cupboard in this odd little room just off the kitchen leading to the bathroom where she kept all her little treasures for us!
Things I haven’t thought about in years. It’s sure fun to take the time to remember those lovely little things! 😀
You’re right. Ya just HAD to love being Ten. Stealing hubcaps,Road signs,TP-ing peoples houses on Halloween, Oh…The potato Peeling was good though too. 🙂
xx
Sooz
Hi Sooz!!! There’s ten and then there’s TEN. I have a feeling you were the latter Sooz!! HA! I had a friend in sixth grade who took her mother’s car and drove to my house then asked me if I wanted to go for a ride! I made her take the car home and promise me she would never ever to do that again! HA! Gads! And she was only 12. I bet she had a pretty big hubcap and road sign collection too. 😀
I still have a few Stop Signs left if ya ever NEED them…Hehehehehe…
xx
Sooz
LOL! 😀
Great photo, Linda! I think I wore a similar outfit when I was ten (though I hated peeling potatoes even back then).
Beautiful post – thank you for the reminder to my ten-year-old self 😀
Ha ha! Dianne! Maybe we were separated at birth!
And I’m so glad you enjoyed the post Dianne! 😀
10 was not all the great for me, cause beer bottles did not have twist off caps back then 🙂
Haha! These kids now days don’t know how good they’ve got it! 😀
I would love to comb my grandma’s hair when I was 10–it was snow white (except for the time she used too much bluing and it was sorta navy) and down to her waist.
I couldn’t turn cartwheels–my elbows would collapse. I always felt I missed out on not being able to join my friends when they flipped around the yards.
I know exactly what color you’re talking about. My grandmother’s best friend always had blue/gray hair. It looked nice on her though. She also wore a lot of “rouge” but she could pull it off. She always wore her hair in a french roll and my grandmother always wore her hair in a bun utilizing the those little hair donuts that seem to be coming back into style now.
Hmmm. . .collapsing elbows eh? Probably best you stayed away from Cartwheels! HA! 😀
My ten-year-old will be eleven on Sunday! I loved the age of ten, and loved watching it again through his eyes. 🙂
Oh how nice! All those wonderful memories in the making! Eleven is a good age too! Enjoy! 😀
A beautiful reflection, leavened nicely with that crack about how nowadays the only good ‘tater, is a mashed ‘tater smothered in gravy– ha!!
Plus, they’re so much healthier than Funyuns!! Well, OK, I guess anything is… : P
P.S. Loved the shot of 10-year-old you plying her new trade!! : )
Oh Mark! You are so right. I think Funyuns might be made out of paper towels only with more chemicals to make them more delicious.
I’m glad you liked the picture! I like to think that at the time it was taken that somewhere in the world Al Gore was peeling Funyuns.
Oh thank you so much for coming by my friend!