I think this quote pretty much speaks for itself. From A Touch of Wonder by Arthur Gordon, p. 77–78:
When I was around thirteen and my brother ten, Father had promised to take us to the circus. But at lunchtime there was a phone call; some urgent business required his attention downtown. We braced ourselves for disappointment. Then we heard him say [into the phone], “No, I won’t be down. It’ll have to wait.”
When he came back to the table, Mother smiled. “The circus keeps coming back, you know.”
“I know,” said Father. “But childhood doesn’t.”
What do you do to try to enjoy childhood today?