25

Creating my entry for the latest Facebook trend -- a list of 25 random things about oneself -- was fun, and proved to be an exercise in introspection. Too much introspection, really, and most of the items I typed out in an e-mail draft in preparation for creating the Facebook note didn't make the final product.

A lighter item that ended up on the cutting room floor was my remembering toys I loved to play with -- Polly Pockets and my American Girl doll, Samantha, which I still have -- and what I loved to watch. I would rent episodes of Shelley Duvall's "Faerie Tale Theatre" by the armful, and there's no telling how many times I watched them all. But they were mesmerizing, and watching the series intro clip I found on YouTube brought everything back.

The point of the entry for the ultimate 25 list was to remark on how I held on to "childish" things much longer than my peers did. I rented some "Tale" episodes for a sleepover party in 5th grade, but no one wanted to watch them and were shocked that I even pushed 'play' and got a few minutes into an episode. Uncool. I gave a Polly Pocket to a friend, also in 5th grade, and I remember watching her unwrap the birthday gift surrounded by giggling girls. The look of incredulity on her face hurt a bit, and I think the giggling got worse. I loved what I loved, and I wasn't in a hurry to be grown up, and my parents loved that. I'm thankful that I wasn't forced to be anything but a kid, even all the way through high school. I got to play and daydream and go to church camp and enjoy innocence. I don't regret it.

Of course, I could start to examine the giant metaphor of me holding onto childhood things and innocence too long, or even still, and I might get depressed and realize I'm more of a late bloomer than I'd thought. But I've never wanted to rack up stereotypical experiences to make myself feel accepted, adding notches to a belt of so-called normalcy.

OK, that's enough introspection.

I discovered they've re-released the entire "Faerie Tale Theatre" series on DVD. I'm so buying it. You can come over and watch it sometime. I'll braid your hair or something!