Walt Disney World recently posted a photo on Facebook that really resonated with me. It's horribly overexposed, but the excitement and feeling of the two kids looking over the railing of the ferry at Magic Kingdom is obvious and smile-inducing. When I shared the reposted the photo to my wall, one of my friends simply said, "I love that feeling."
Just thinking about times I've had that feeling, I get excited. I didn't really get it at theme parks until adulthood, since I didn't really visit many parks until then. But I remember having it even going to museums I had been to several times before. Or even going to miniature golf.
Why is it so hard to hang on to that feeling in adulthood? I wouldn't say that it's gone, but it sure is less frequent. In Cleveland, I used to get that feeling when I'd throw big parties, usually once or twice a year. Ditto for some of our big meetups, like the our send-off at Dave & Busters in '09. I think since I've moved to Washington, I've only had it on return to the Orlando theme parks. Most of the time I've been so overwhelmed with work and the act of having a child that I'm almost too exhausted to have those giddy, child-like moments of excitement.
I don't want to confuse this lack of excitement with the implication that life is boring. Far from it. Honestly, every day I come home and Simon runs up to me, that's one of the greatest feelings ever. I even get that when I get him up on a weekend morning (once I'm over being annoyed about having to get up early). There are countless wonderful moments when Diana does the smallest things, like make some favorite dish or even look at me a certain way (I know, that sounds like a Cialis commercial).
What I'm talking about is that tingly feeling and anticipation that you get when you're about to do something cool. I need to find more of that.