RemembeRED: Childhood

I miss my childhood. I miss the little explorer that I used to be, the one who was never afraid. I miss the feeling that the world was mine, that everything was waiting for me to discover it over the next hill.

I miss walking home from kindergarten. By myself. Without being afraid of a single boogeymen. Without even realizing that boogeymen existed.

I miss the MPs bringing me home when I wandered too far afield. I do regret peeing on the backseat, but I was five and I had to go.

I miss pedaling my big wheel as fast as I could so I could spin out. I miss swinging so very high...and then jumping out of the swing. On purpose.

I miss sneaking out of the playground during sixth grade recess, just outside the fence near the back, where there was a tree that was perfect for climbing...and quiet.

I miss spending hours with absolutely no adult supervision, building forts, fighting 'wars', playing on the hospital helicopter pad, and climbing the fruit trees on the army base to eat all the fruit we could.

I miss popsicles made with one packet of Kool-aid and 14 tons of sugar.

I miss completely making up a cookie recipe off the top of my head, making said cookies with my dad, and finding out that they tasted hideous.

I miss eating so much candy on Halloween that I didn't think I could eat one more piece...until I did.

I miss using a curling iron on my Barbie doll's hair. I miss trying to flush all that "food" out of my Baby Alive. I miss trying to surgically remove the tape recorder in my Mrs. Beasley doll.

But I think that I miss believing in fairy tales the most.