So much fun

This evenings was one of the funnest nights I have had in a really long time. My husband and I are at my parents house for the weekend. Earlier this evening they were gone, and my husband, P, and I took the dogs for a walk at dusk. My parents live in South Texas, and the sunsets here are absolutely beautiful. After taking the dogs for a walk, P hopped on the bike and went for a ride up and down the street. Then he asked me the question....."Do you want a pump?" Of course I do. So I hopped on the handle bars of the bike and away we rode. It was so much fun.
I felt like I was in 8Th grade all over again. We rode up and down the street and around the block a few times, and instantly, I was no longer a 27 year old wife. I was a 12 year old girl, praying for the sun to stay up a few minutes longer so I could play with my friends. I was transported to a different time, a different place, a different me. I was suddenly looking around the neighborhood through different eyes and I was seeing a place that was so loving, familiar, and safe. I saw the neighborhood through young eyes, naive eyes, eyes of a girl that I used to be. A girl who was not concerned with the clothes on her back, how her hair looked, or what was going on in the world. I was a girl who wanted to play. A girl who wanted to run so fast, and so long, and only stopped because her lungs were burning and she was gasping for air, smiling with sheer delight. Riding around the block I recounted to P all of the places where my friends and I played touch football, or roller blade hockey in the summer. I remembered watching the fire works from the neighbors yard, and everyone bringing snacks to share and spend time together.
As I sit here hours later, I still bask in the glow of my ride down memory lane. I think about who I am now and who I was then. I think about all of the friends I knew, and the ones I lost. I think about the lessons learned the hard way. I think and at times pine for that life again. A time when all was well, and everything was simple. A time when all I cared about was having fun with my friends. I think about the hours I spent pining over the boy down the street. I think about all the scrapped knees my mom mended with a band aid and a kiss. I think about my knobby knees, my aching feet, my frizzy hair, and my innocent and untarnished outlook on life, when I thought the world was safe, and we all loved each other.
It was totally refreshing to be that girl again, even if just for a moment. To remember what is was like and to hopefully hold on to a little of her optimism, hope, and joy.
So to that sweet, awkward, silly, clumsy, tomboy of a girl, I want to say hi. I want to say I miss you. I want to remember you, and hold on to you. There are so many things about you that I love and miss. I promise I wont forget you. And, I will try to visit more often!