Growing up with Pooh

© Disney

~This weeks’ Disney Goddess posts will be in honor of the new Winnie the Pooh movie, set to open this Friday, July 15, 2011. ~

“Wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.”
-- Winnie the Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner

There is something very comforting about eternal playtime.  A child stays young forever, and their constant companion, so much more than a toy, is by their side.  We capture these moments in photographs and hold them dear in memory.  We relate with certain aching to tales like Toy Story and Winnie the Pooh, which are examples of that fleeting time we call childhood.  It is a time of simplicity and innocence; learning and wonder.

Early childhood is a time when eyes begin to open to the world.  Everything is a curiosity and life begins with lessons such as:

“When looking at your two paws, as soon as you have decided which of them is the right one, then you can be sure the other one is the left.”
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

As they get older, they realize that they are not the only ones with feelings.

“A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.”
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

The teenage years bring a multitude of challenges.  Pooh, in his simplicity, can offer guidance:

“They're funny things, Accidents. You never have them till you're having them.”
-- Eeyore, Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."
-- Winnie the Pooh

Ironically, these are the times that shape our children into adults.  The lessons stay with them, though.  Through our memories and theirs, the spirit of the child playing atop the forest never leaves.

“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

The hardest part is what to leave behind, ... It's time to let go!
-- Winnie the Pooh

XO, Ami

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