Peter Pan never wanted to grow up. So, he created a world in which he didn't have to - a world in which he could escape responsibility and make his own rules. Sometimes, it seems like it would be nice to be able to do this. When you're staring at a pile of dirty laundry, looking at all of the papers you have to write or when you're trying to ignore the sound of your alarm clock in the morning that's waking you up for work, it seems like it would be nice for it all just to disappear. It seems like it would be nice to go back to the days when all you had to worry about was whether you wanted a PB&J or a ham sandwich for lunch or whether to watch Scooby-Doo or Batman.
But think about this: what is one of the greatest things of all you'd be missing out on? Love. Peter Pan never got to feel love because he was afraid of it. When you're a kid, kissing still gives you cooties and boys are icky. But growing up is all about getting to experience the things that mean something. Peter Pan never got to have kids and watch them grow up, he never got married, he never even had a girlfriend. None of the things in life that are important, that mean something, and that you'd die to protect come by playing chutes and ladders or sailboat in the bathtub. They come by learning, by living, and by growing.
They might cause us pain and heartache sometimes. They might mean that we have to get off of work early to drive to our kids school and pick them up because their sick. They might mean that we have to take out a second mortgage on the house to pay for medical bills. They might mean working two jobs to put food on the table. But they're worth it. They're worth it because without the things in life that means something, without people and without love, life isn't worth living at all.
"To live would be an awfully big adventure." - Peter Pan
