Death is Bum Scooting Its Way Towards Me!
@Ruby3881 (1963)
Canada
March 31, 2016 9:48am CST
Sometimes I swear my kids have far too much imagination! And they can obsess about the strangest things. They can also come up with the oddest and most colourful ways to describe what they're thinking about.
Today is a great example of how they use this talent. It was only about 7:15 am, and my oldest suddenly had this epiphany. "A couple of months, and I'll be finished cadets," says she.
Now that probably doesn't have much meaning for most of you, but MamaOzzy is finishing her seventh year as a cadet. She started as this shy little girl, and she has worked so hard to learn survival skills, leadership, a musical instrument, and so much more. She is now one of the most senior cadets in her corps, has been chosen as the assistant to the Training Officer, and this summer she'll be working for the third consecutive year alongside adult members of the Canadian Forces and earning a pay cheque from the Department of National Defence.
But it's almost over. All Canadian youth are eligible to join cadets at age 12. And they age out when they turn 19. MamaOzzy will be 19 next fall, when the new cadet year is just starting. And we've been talking about it for a while now. We've been asking her if she wants to return next year as a civilian instructor, or whether she'd like to take a break to focus on college. Once she's earned her degree, she can apply to become an officer and if she's chosen, she'd earn a commission in the Canadian Forces. So she has a couple of options to pick from.
But all she could think of this morning was how the years are creeping up on her.
"I'll be 19 soon," she says. "And then I'll be 20, then 21, and then 30." And as if that wasn't enough for her to wrap her young mind around, she started fast forwarding by the decade - 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and so on.
"Ah!" she cried, "Death is bum scooting its way towards me!"
Now I have no idea where she came up with that particular imagery, but it's just so typical of my kids. As I said, they are very colourful! I couldn't help but laugh at her comment, and I asked if I could share it with you all here too.
Sometimes it must feel like the weight of the world is on those young shoulders. But today I think she just let herself get carried away in a very strange day dream. It certainly provided our morning entertainment, and I hope it will amuse my friends here too 
[Graphic by OpenVectorClipart/Pixabay; CC0]
[Graphic by OpenVectorClipart/Pixabay; CC0]12 people like this
10 responses
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
31 Mar 16
My kids certainly do!
I still can't get over her being so fatalistic, though. I mean, when I was her age all I wanted to do was finish college, move into my own place, and really take on a "proper" adult life. I didn't think five years ahead, let alone five decades!
2 people like this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
2 Apr 16
This one of the cat is more how I personally imagined it:
My cat, Mike, has this very bad habit of dragging her butt on any cloth surfaces she finds. Please note that she is not suffering from any anal sac condition...
@cherriefic (10399)
• Philippines
31 Mar 16
What a vivid imagination. I am into colorful imaginings myself.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
31 Mar 16
Two of my daughters really take after their father. He has a real gift of the gab, as they say. He has a very sharp wit, and is really quick with a pun. The girls are really funny, and often even more colourful than Daddy.
@cherriefic (10399)
• Philippines
31 Mar 16
@Ruby3881 You must have a very interesting time with them all the time. At least they are not boring to be around.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
31 Mar 16
@cherriefic Never a boring day! And they have interesting friends, too. I love that they can be quite serious, and discuss really mature subjects - even my youngest. But they are all very playful too, and even my oldest still loves to cosplay and dress up for Halloween, and joke around with the little kids. They have a great love of life.
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
2 Apr 16
I don't hear the word 'bum' from young people these days, so that portion of her comment throws me a bit, but kid'll say the darndest things at any age I guess. Maybe now that she got all that over with, it won't bother her anymore especially when she's nearing different age milestones. For me it was thirty, that was major difficult.
I didn't know about the cadets, how they began or the age they could start and how it could turn into a career later in life if they desires.
Is this the gal that was writing on, was it bubblews for a bit too? If so, I didn't realize she was only nineteen, or even less at that point.
Also, this comment brought to you by Janet, even though I was going to head this way on my own eventually.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
2 Apr 16
Yes, it is the same daughter that was writing briefly on PP. She never really got to post much, as she's so busy with school and cadets and her art. I'm hoping she will have more time once she graduates school and ages out of cadets. She'll be going to college just up the street, and she'll likely still be involved with cadets. But she'll be able to sort of set her own hours with both.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
31 Mar 16
She has an incredibly full life, as I suppose I did at that age. This spring, for example, she intends to volunteer at both the college greenhouse and the therapeutic riding program. She is also hoping to get a brief internship at the store where her Dad works, to learn a little about commerce as she is planning to start a business degree next year.
MamaOzzy helps to supervise her disabled brother (e.g. walking him to and from school.) She has just earned a marksmanship credential for being part of the cadet corps shooting team this season. And she is both an artist and a musician, who also loves to act.
She is one busy and accomplished young lady, and I'm a very proud Mama
@allknowing (153530)
• India
1 Apr 16
May be just a chip of the old block as they say. Must have got it from you.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382147)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Sep 16
That is a very vivid image indeed! Poor kid! The years do go by so quickly.
