Childhood

     A while ago I was reading the article Nature-Deficit Disorder. This article by Timothy Egan talks about how kids these days don't get out as much as they used to. Kids these days in general don't go play outside, shoot hoops in the drive way, go to the park, ect. Fresh air, camping trips and time outdoors is an important part of being a kid. Egan talks about how over protective parents who want to protect their kids from "out there" are actually doing more harm than good. I found this article pretty interesting and it made me kind of take a step back and think about my childhood a little bit.  

Childhood

Do you remember those days? The long days of summer that seemed like nothing would ever change. When you counted the minutes ‘til sunset when it was dark enough to watch your parents light colorful fireworks for the fourth of July.  The days went on and on.

Remember the days a crisp breeze played across your face and dead leave crunched under foot. Days that in the last late afternoon glow, the world was bathed in gold.

Do you remember begging to stay up five more minutes instead of wishing for more minutes of sleep? When Saturdays were for morning cartoons. The days when you ran barefoot outside to look up at the first snow and catch tiny flakes on your nose. Spending hours in the snow rolling snowmen and building an igloo just to come running back in for hot chocolate and Christmas movies by a warm fire. Ever go to bed early just so you could wake up and have it be the next day?

Do you remember pointing at a rainbow through the rain? Did you ever crawl under the tarp roof of a fort in the rain? Days when you could sit for hours listening to the rain drops on the tarp. That smell of fresh rain after a long dry period. Did you ever notice the world around you came back to life and bloomed anew?

Do you remember blowing out the candles of a homemade cake? Staying up late waiting for mom to come home from work, throwing aside the colorful wrapping paper and reading cards from aunts and cousins.

And the thrill of competition, do you remember? The days of waking up early just for a game. Running harder than you thought you ever could. Sliding through the mud, playing so long it hurts to walk when you got home. The losses and the victories, the old friends and the new ones.

The good old days of childhood, do you remember?