When I grow up, I want to be a 2-year-old.Seriously. Their lives are pretty much awesome.I realized this last week as I watched my daughter run naked through a sprinkler in our backyard. She had no worries about the cellulite on her butt or the pooch in her belly. She just laughed and laughed as she soaked herself while I sat fully clothed like the boring adult that I am.It was just one more example that 2-year-olds live a sweet life and can get away with just about anything. For example, my daughter can call the black gentleman in our neighborhood Obama and everyone laughs. She can call the portly, bearded man at the grocery store Santa and he just asks her what she wants for Christmas.She never gets in trouble for not being politically correct. I covet her utter lack of accountability just because she is 2 years old.That toddler card also allows her to be completely inappropriate in public. Lately, this means announcing every bodily function in a loud, matter-of-fact voice as she is experiencing it.She also has picked up the bad habit of identifying body parts. At a lunch with work colleagues the other day, for example, my daughter grabbed my friend's chest and exclaimed, "Boobies!"Now I must confess here that I did in fact encourage her to do this in the privacy of our home where I think it's hilarious and will laugh every time she does it.But in public, I was a little embarrassed.The funny thing was that everyone else thought it was hilarious, too. I could never get away with something like that. Trust me — I've tried. It just doesn't get the same reaction when an adult does it.Just think how hilarious life would be if we could get away with stuff like that. Imagine being able to shamelessly devour a cake on your birthday, icing smeared across your face as ice cream drips off your chin. People would just smile and take pictures of how adorable you are.Or you could run naked through the house at bath time, laughing at the top of your lungs while shouting, "I'm naked! I'm naked!" Well, OK, I do sometimes do this, but it's just not as cute as when my daughter does it.And every time you go to the bathroom on the toilet, people would sing ridiculous potty songs and dance around throwing their hands in the air saying "Hooray, hooray. You're so wonderful!"Yes, it would be incredible to be 2.And the very best part? The part that makes me most jealous of my daughter's 2-year-old world? It's the joy — the pure joy of life. Have you ever watched a 2-year-old watching an airplane roar overhead or study a roly-poly flipped on its back with its legs kicking in the air? Pure joy.There are no schedules to keep, no worries to fret over. There are just bugs and sunshine and sidewalk chalk. And if a knee gets scraped, a magic mommy kiss puts the world back together again.So from my 27-year-old adult view, being 2 again looks pretty good.But yes, I know, it's a pipe dream. You can't go back.Happily, I'm along for the ride as my daughter takes it for the first time. So even though I won't be running naked in the sprinkler this spring (cue sigh of relief from neighbors) or throwing a party when I use the potty, I'll be there when she does.
And if I'm lucky, a little of that 2-year-old joy just might rub off on me.Erin Stewart's blog, Just4Mom, can be found Tuesdays and Thursdays at deseretnews.com. E-mail: estewart@desnews.com