Do we ever really grow up?
Thankfully not.
And many of us relish some special piece of our childhood.
I don't know why we would have to give up what make us happy.
This whole notion that once you hit a certain age, certain parts of life are inappropriate, is silly.
For example, I will always not love riding in a shopping cart.
Redditor taylortaylortaylorrr wanted to hear from everyone about what simple things we really enjoy that are meant for a different age bracket. They asked:
"What is something meant for children that you still enjoy as an adult?"
I also love me some chewable vitamins. They just go down smoother.
Go High
swings fail GIF by America's Funniest Home VideosGiphy"Swings! Love them."
mamacrocker
"Nothing like being forty years old at a public park and kind of feeling like you need to announce, 'I swear I’m not a creep. I just want to see how high I can go on this thing if I pump my legs really hard.'"
Octuhpie
Weeeee!!!
"Waterslides. Love that sh*t. In fact maybe they are made for adults only screw bringing kids."
burntonionstastegood
"I used to love them. Until I got stuck in one. I got stuck in the ring and if someone never came down early I could have been in there for ages. Panicked the hell out of me man. Now I can’t use them. Shame, cause I used to love them."
FinniboiXD
Classics
"Cartoons."
Ancient_Till_8324
"I grew up watching all the classics like The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Fairly Odd Parents, Dexter's laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Ed, Edd and Eddy, What's New Scooby Doo, SpongeBob SquarePants. I don't care how old I get, they'll never stop being entertaining."
Amanystya
"There are two types of people: people who never totally outgrew cartoons and liars."
InsomniacCyclops
Playtime
"Playing in the sand at the beach."
preflightjitters
"I mostly see grown men have the most fun playing in the sand. Most kids collect water and dump it. I don't see much playing unless an adult is facilitating. To me playing in the sand is exfoliating so I'm all for it. I used to hate the sand as a child. I didn't know how to properly clean it off before getting home."
SpoonfulofYou
SHOOT!
"Water guns."
Chrome_Armadillo
"Water guns are crap nowadays. 90s Super Soaker was peak. Meanwhile Nerf is better than it’s ever been right now."
Doyouwantaspoon
I miss great water guns. They just fall apart now.
Scoob Forever
Happy Dance GIF by Scooby-DooGiphy"I'm 34 years old and I am sitting in my living room, sipping wine, and annoying the crap out of my darling husband by watching episode after episode of The Scooby Doo Show. I love Scooby and the Gang and I will never stop."
roseblood_red
Just Smile
"Positive reinforcement. I love it when someone tells me I’m doing a great job."
aztechfilm
"I always let my coworkers know they’re doing a great job. Even when it’s not exactly true I like to think I’m the glue that keeps his company together."
Thismonday
"I had positive reinforcements given to me during my military apprenticeship or whatever it's called, it was nice to hear."
manor2003
Jump!
"Bouncy castles."
CataleyaJackson
"I would like to be able to jump in them like I could as a kid. I could jump in them for such a long time. Now after 2 minutes my a** is kicked, gasping for air, and I feel like I'm going to pee my pants."
GlassAndPaint
"I came here to say this. :) I’m thinking about renting one for my 28th birthday this year."
Leading-Cartoonist66
Hugs
"Stuffed animals! I still sleep with a couple in my bed lol."
MauveSectant
"I sleep with a giant serta sheep. heck, he popped a hole 3 months ago, so i took the opportunity, pulled the stuffing out of him, and ran him through a washing machine a few times before putting new stuffing into him! all nice and clean!!!"
Nepeta33
"My partner sleeps with a soft toy dog I bought him years ago. When I have to stay away for work or training, he lets me take it with me and I sleep a million times better with it."
FailedTheSave
Rest Up
nap time GIFGiphy"Naps."
Bile-duck
"I take a quick 30 min nap everyday during my lunch. It’s a fantastic way to boost my energy for the last 4 hours of my shift. And it improves my mood big time. I’m always happier after a nap."
mrunique07
Bursts
"I will die on my deathbed eating a pack of Gushers."
bipnoodooshup
"For the holiday weekend, they had Kool-Aid Bursts 6 for $1 at my local grocery. I should have picked up some gushers as I haven’t had either in probably 20 years. Complete the terrible summer snack as a kid."
2_Spicy_2_Impeach
Tiny. Floating Love.
"Bubbles!"
Parx2k14
"I just bought like a 24-pack of those tiny bottles of bubbles (party favor size), ostensibly for babysitting kit, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I wanted to open a bottle for myself and just sit in my living room blowing bubbles while I watch TV lol. Also just bought a $3 bubble gun for my nieces, just for fun, and I kept trying to convince them to go outside so we could try it out."
jenbenfoo
Puddy Mess
"Playdoh."
turtletoes67
"I have a ton of playdoh in my babysitting bag and I have just as much fun playing with it as the kids lol. But I get a little anal about keeping the colors separated haha."
jenbenfoo
"I love Playdoh but it makes a huge mess."
Weird_person_1670
Classics
"Children’s books. Especially classics like Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein poems."
KaleidoscopeVast9290
"I read, 'The Giving Tree' again as an adult and had to fight back tears. It definitely resonated with me in a different way as an adult and with adult experiences."
GlassAndPaint
"'Oh the Places You'll go!' is a timeless classic."
kellyk311
Push Me
Dogs Swinging GIFGiphy"Swings. It is impossible to be in a bad mood after a couple minutes on a swing set, lol..."
PoopComesOutOfMyButt
"obsolete"
"Lego!!! Even better when you're older."
jiveable
"I grew out of my LEGO obsession around my early teenage years, but quickly came back, as bored me found LEGO's digital builder while scouring the internet. I thought to myself that I should at least try it, as I used to play with LEGO a lot when I was a kid."
"Years later, I'm still using the now 'obsolete' LEGO program, and it's successor to create LEGO models. And with my continuous interest with LEGO, I'm starting to revive my physical collection of them, and planning on ordering parts soon for my old LEGO sets I disassembled when I was a kid."
TheRookieBuilder
Be Merry
"I don’t have any children, but I decorate the crap out of my house at Christmas time. I have 5 different trees that I put up all over the house and outside the house, along with all the trimmings."
bzsbal
"My kids are grown and I love to decorate still. I have never bought into the notion that Christmas is for children. Christmas is for everyone."
nosoyvegetarian
"We still decorate the house for Christmas and I always buy new stuff every year. I even left out a plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa. (plot twist I ate/drank it)."
PapaTwoToes
Spinning High
Get Ready Waiting GIF by US National ArchivesGiphy"Bought a spin helicopter that goes 150 ft in the air and has led lights on it. Just waiting for it to get dark out."
njdevil956
I want all of these things. Forever.
- Famous Quotes That Are Always Taken Out Of Context - George Takei ›
- People Gave Celebrities The "Bill Nye The Science Guy" Name ... ›
- People Reveal Which Scene Completely Traumatized Them As A Kid ›
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- People Explain Which Scene Completely Traumatized Them As A Kid - George Takei ›
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.
