When I became a man, I put away childish things

A thought trundled through my brain Sunday just gone. As I sat in the back garden with Jnr, dismantling my special edition Mr Potato Heads and cleaning them, it struck me that at the age of thirty (thirty one in 2 & a bit weeks) I have still retained a lot of my childish paraphernalia.

Take for example, my bookcase. Packed with broken spined Stephen King novels, 2 editions of Viz's Profanisaurus Rex, graphic novels, topped with the aforementioned Potato Heads, Lord of the Rings statues, a Lego Jedi and a miniature Mickey Mouse duelling light-sabres with Yoda, it looks like the hoardings of a nerdy pubescent boy. Not, as it is, the collection of a married father of one at the start of his 4th decade in existence. My taste in films has not really moved on since I was 18, it's still the inevitable mix of horror, 'dumb' comedies, action films and, of late, the Studio Ghibli collection. Granted some slightly more complex films & books have crept in but the staples have been the same for 15 years now.

Should I be worried by this? Am I now part of a generation doomed to never grow up? Frittering their lives away coveting the Lego Star Wars: Palpatine's Shuttle, set? I like to think not. The inference that this behaviour is childish is ridiculous. I've seen childish. Childish is throwing a temper tantrum because you're bored in Tesco. Childish is having "best friends" that last 2 weeks, or until someone else gets a new, better Bakugan (google it you lazy wotsit). Childish is owning something for a week & breaking it when you try to push it into the secret hiding place under the sink. Kids are frivolous and fickle over belongings, I am not. I have collected these things over the course of the last 13 years, they are either well used ( the books) or pristine ( the models and whatnot ). I look after my things and use them sparingly & carefully. Some I keep for the memories, some because I find the concept amusing. A graphic novel (you can call them comics if you like, doesn't bother me) is kept not because I'm immature but because I appreciate the story, themes & art contained in them. If you think "comics" can't have meaningful storylines, I suggest you read Batman: Arkham Asylum & Watchmen.

Is this blog an attempt to justify my kiddy shit to myself? Possibly, but in writing this I reminded myself how much I am attached to these things. They are part of me and if others see me as being childish as a result, so be it. If you think that then you don't know me and in all honesty, if you can't see it for what it is, perhaps I don't want to know you.