Somehow, I was now stuck as a child. I had no clue how I went back in time or how I would go back to the time where I belonged. I decided that I would just make the best of it until I found a way of returning to the future. My childhood was good, and I often missed it. Now I had a chance to relive it. It's strange, that as a middle-aged man, I could only remember the good times from my childhood. I forgot all about school being so boring and the bullying. Now I had to experience things like bullying, boring classes and homework. I would have no freedom. An adult would tell me where I was allowed to be and what I was to do.
One good thing was at school recess. I could play football with my friends. This was as time stopped and we just were having fun kicking the ball around. It was a long time since that I had so much fun. We would smile and laugh and be impressed at those that could kick a ball with skill. We would also be serious and were not very diplomatic when a boy was not playing as good as he could. When a boy was criticised, he just shrugged his shoulders and tried better. I was having the time of my life during recess. I had a lot of energy and had so much fun. When the school bell rang, it was a horrible feeling, as we would have to endure more boring lessons.
As soon as I came home, Mom told me to do my homework. This seemed so unjust. Did mom not understand that I spent all day in classes, and the last thing I wanted to do was to do homework. I had no choice but to sit at the kitchen table and open the school books once again. It made me think that when adults were finished with their day of work, they could relax and do what they wanted. When a child was finished with a long day at school, we had to continue working by doing homework. Once again I was trying to figure out how to do Algebra. I tried to remember dates in history. Doing homework was impossible. I was daydreaming most of the time or having hunger pains because I could smell moms cooking. Homework was torture!
After dinner, I was in my room listening to Kate Bush. Going back to the past had one advantage. It was a golden era for music. The radio was a gold mine of great songs. Who could not feel good after listening to Madonna, Prince or Michael Jackson? The music helped me clear my mind and think. I had to think about how I suddenly was reliving my childhood. It was clear by now that this was not a dream. It was reality! When I touched the statue, I was thinking how good my childhood was. The statue must have granted my wish and sent me back to my childhood. If this was the case, the statue was the key to how I could return to my middle-aged self. I did not know how this could be done, but it seemed like it was my only chance.
Mom came into my bedroom and told me that it was time to get ready for bed. She had a diaper and explained that I have been wetting the bed too many times and this was the only solution to save her from washing sheets every day. I protested and cried. When I woke up in bed this morning, it was dry, or was it? With all the confusion, I most likely did not notice that the bed was wet. Mom did not pay attention to my protests. She told me to lay on the bed while she put IT on me. I never felt as embarrassed as I did then. I never did like people seeing me in my birthday suit. When Mom was finished putting the diaper on me, I felt like such a baby. As a middle-aged man, I forgot all about bedwetting when I was a child. I most likely hid it in a hidden part of my brain. Now I had to relive this embarrassing secret. The worse thing was that I had to admit that a diaper worked. I was not sleeping in a puddle when I woke up. The diaper was wet, so I knew that mom would want to continue this treatment. What would my friends do if they knew I was a diaper boy.
On my way to school, I met a girl from my class. Her name was Bethany. We started to talk as we walked to school together. We were laughing and smiling as we talked about teachers and what we liked and did not like about school. We talked about the teachers and the bullies. Bethany told me that she thought that I was cool. She said that most boys would not even talk to a girl. My reaction was that this was ridiculous. Then I remembered that boys were older when they were interested in girls. In my real childhood, I was always shy around girls. I must still have been thinking as an adult, as now I did not feel shy. Bethany thought that I was different and suggested that we should walk to school and walk home afterwards. I smiled when she suggested this and told her that it was a great idea.
Rocco noticed that I was walking with a girl. He was so confused and asked did I like girls and if Bethany now was a girlfriend. I answered that I just liked her as a friend. Rocco did not understand this and reminded me that she was a girl. What else could I do but smile? Rocco was not interested in girls yet. I could see that it bothered him as he saw me together with a girl. I assured him that even though I was friends with a girl, he would always be my best friend. Rocco responded by shrugging his shoulders and mumbling that time will tell. He reminded me that we never had any secrets from each other and this was something I could never have with a girl. This made me feel bad. How could I tell Rocco that I had to wear diapers to bed? He would think that I was weird and that I was a baby that just wanted to wear them. That was not the best secret I had. How could I tell him that I was reliving my childhood? Who would ever believe that?
Classes were once again a bore. The worse thing was that the weather was so good and we were stuck in a warm class listening to the teacher go on and on about unimportant things. Who cares how many wives King Henry VIII had, or what an electron was. The more classes went on, the more bored I got. At times all the info being thrown at me was so frustrating, that it was as if my head was spinning. To make things worse, teachers were talking about exams. I rested my head on the table and the teacher asked me did I have a problem. I told her that the class is boring and suggested that she not speak so much and let us discuss some things that she was teaching us. I thought that my idea was good. If we had an active discussion, then it would be easier for us to learn things. The teacher did not think so. She sent me to the principal.
So much for being honest. Why did the teacher even ask me if she did not want to hear the truth? I had to stop thinking like an adult and remember that I had the status of a child. Now I was in the principal's office. He was a middle-aged man and it was easy to see the stress he was under. He hardly looked at me as he mentioned that I was always one of the good students and now he was so disappointed that I now was standing in the office. I tried defending myself by saying that it was no crime in suggesting how learning could be easier. The principal did not even care if my suggestion was good. All he cared about was that I hurt the teacher and made her think that she was a bad teacher. I was given a warning that any cheeky outbursts from me would earn me detention.
After school, Rocco asked me if I wanted to go to the park and play football. Of course, I agreed to do this. What would the alternative be? Doing homework or waiting for the dreaded diaper to be put on me. Bethany came to the park. She asked if she could join in the game. While I did not mind, the other boys told her that girls were not allowed. This must be because they did not want a girl to perform better than them. Bethany did not get mad at the response, so we started playing football. I was soon having fun and felt like time stood still. No adults were telling us what we should do. It was also good that Bethany was cheering me on. Like all things, it was time for us to go home.
Before I went home. I was having a chat with Rocco. He did not like that Bethany was there, especially when she talked about football. I could see that he thought that girls knew nothing about sports. I on the other hand could see that she knew a lot about it. Just before I was about to leave, Rocco asked if it was time that we had a sleepover. This was his way of showing Bethany that sleepover was something we could do, as we would never be allowed to have a sleepover with a girl. I told Rocco that I had to think about it. It made me feel guilty seeing his disappointed face. How could I tell him that I was too embarrassed for him to find me a bedwetter that wore diapers? It was a no-win situation for me. I either admitted that I was a diaper boy or I disappointed my best friend. I hoped that he would get over it.
Needless to say, I was in a very sad mood when I came home. I threw my school bag in the corner. I tried saying hello to mom, but she just stood there silently staring at me with her arms crossed. I always hated when mom was like this. The silence was torture and made me wonder what I have done wrong. I knew that at some stage she would explode like a volcano. This time was no different. She was mad that my school uniform was dirty. I tried to explain to her that we were playing football. This only made Mom madder. She told me that we had an agreement that I would tell her if I played sports after school. This was before we had smartphones!
I told mom that I was just having fun and it was still early. I did feel bad about my dirty clothes, but what did Mom expect? A sign of a healthy boy was a boy in dirty clothes. I tried to explain that sport was a good way of resting and a good way to escape the stress of school. As they say, all work and no play was not good. This did not help Mom’s mood. She told me that exams were soon. I would be one lucky boy as I could study a lot because I was now grounded. This was horrible. I bet the weather would be perfect to play football in when I was grounded and when my sentence was up and I would get freedom. Then it would be rainy!
I never remembered how little freedom we had as a child. Now I suddenly remembered as I had to experience parental supervision and the many hours of things like school. There seemed to be a limited time for fun and just to play. It was a world where adults thought we had lots of time to have fun, but in reality, adults controlled everything in our life. We were under their training to be future adults and productive members of society. It meant we had to be advised and disciplined. It meant we were to be full of information in the name of Education. After all this training was done, we were allowed to have fun. I already went through this once. I did not want to go through it a second time! I had to fund some way of getting back to the life that I had.
Being grounded was good in a way. I had an excuse to tell Rocco about why we could not have a sleepover. I had time to try to figure out how to hide that I wore diapers at night. This was a secret that I struggled with. I planned to use the grounding time to stop bedwetting. I tried everything from not drinking before bed to trying to wake up and go to the toilet. None of this worked. I still wore a diaper at night. This created a problem. Rocco would be hurt if I refused to have a sleepover. He would think I was more interested in Bethany than him. At the same time, I was too embarrassed to tell him about the diaper.
Being grounded was frustrating. I know it was a punishment for making mom worry about me, but this did not happen. I thought of myself and how hard it was to be stuck inside after school and forced to study. I tried looking at the bright side and the fact that I now studied so much that I began to understand maths once again and many things that I have forgotten as an adult. I should have been positive and thought that grounding did some miracles, but all I could think about was how unfair it was that I was stuck inside while my friends were playing football in the good weather,
Mom did try to be nice. She was firm in her decision that I was grounded, but she did suggest one day that we went for a walk and visited the church. I always liked visiting the Church as it was a quiet place with a special atmosphere. When we visited the Church this time, it was different as I knew it was here, that I was sent back to the past to relive my childhood. As I sat in the church, I looked at the statue that I touched before the fog came and the time travel happened. Maybe the statue was the answer to help me to get back to the period in which I belonged.
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