Do you remember when pigs could fly?
When you wondered where the moon went when it disappeared. Looked for shapes in clouds. Deconstructed Oreos. Walked to the park with a paper bag of gumballs, hot toothpicks and Pez to share. Sat on the curb with your best friend. Ran through the sprinkler on torrid summer days. Read for hours by an open window. Fell asleep to the knocking of the furnace, the whirring of the fridge.
Remember collecting leaves and rocks. Going to the lake. Weekend drives to visit your favorite cousins. Zooming down icy hills on plastic bags in winter. Christmas and a pair of ice skates, Spirograph, Pictionary. The festive noise of friends and family. Easter egg hunts. Neighbors and Neighborhoods transformed for Halloween. Diving into piles of autumn leaves.
Recall the feel of a sweater and jeans when heading back to school in September. The smell of newly sharpened pencils and paper. School trips to Pioneer Village and the Apple Farm. Buying a birthday present with money saved in a piggy bank. Going fishing with dad. Walking with a sibling to the corner store.
The waiting room at the Doctor’s office. Braces. Five rocks, hand ball and hop scotch. Fried chicken, pizza, ice cream and burgers. Waffles, pancakes and ice cold milk. Records. Mom and dad dancing in the living room. Friends dropping by. Impromptu backyard barbecues.
Crayola. Milk and cookies before nap time. The national anthem and announcements on the P.A. The librarian’s rocking chair. Story time. Fighting and making up. Waiting for the phone call. The first snowfall! Mom and Dad in the front seats of the car. Track and Field. Tree house. Tests. The bogey man. A Diary. Disappointments and victories.
Everything so vibrant, reverberating, electric. Us and the universe. Alive with energy. What? Why? When? Where? Who? and How? the daily vernacular. Quotidian surprises both good and bad. Coming of age.
Pinches and kisses, wonder and amazement, a dose of naivety, gargantuan imagination. Experiences that were extra extra large and fathoms deep.
Do you remember?
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