Never warn a child!

The winter is a fabulous time of year for children. I was lucky enough to grow up in northern Canada so we really had winter! There was always lots of snow from November right until April. Sure, it was cold, but it was fun! Our mothers would bundle us up until all that was showing was our eyes, and then we would play. We built snowmen and snow forts, made snow angels and had snowball fights...all winter long. It was a blast!

But not everything about the winter is great. I remember one winter day, I met a stranger on my way home from school. We were walking in a pathway between streets. There were metal bars that prohibited vehicles from using this path. She spoke to me and warned me never to stick my tongue to one of those metal posts. I’m not sure why she said this and I really wish she hadn’t because, just like any child would, I became curious.

I didn’t stick my tongue to that post. But for the rest of the way home, I wondered what would happen if I actually did it. Because I was a semi-intelligent child, I realized that the issue wasn’t the posts, but the metal. So when I arrived at my house and noticed the thinner metal work on the door, I thought to myself, “This is my chance!” After checking that no one was looking, and feeling very naughty, I stuck out my tongue and touched it to the metal.

Of course, it got stuck. Then I started to panic! I could only think about how stupid it was for me to intentionally do something that I had been warned about and how embarrassing it would be to explain to my mother how I ended up attached to the front door. So in one quick, painful motion, I pulled my head back and ripped my tongue off of the metal door.

I went into the house, trying not to cry, and wishing I hadn’t been so stupid. I don’t remember what I told my mother when she asked how it happened, but I’m sure she knew. From that day on, my tongue has never gone anywhere near anything metal in the wintertime!