remember when...?

i remember when i used to love running down the hill behind my home and swinging with all my might, just see if i could reach a cloud, or touch a star--or maybe just flip the swing over while i'm still on it! i used to love swinging away the summer, seeing how far i could jump from the swing, how high i could go and do a back flip off the seat... and playing King of the Turtle (much more fun to shove someone off a cement turtle than trying to claim a hill). Not to mention the teeter-totter... oh, how many times did i fly OVER the handlebars at the hands of a 'friend' who found it humorous to slam their end into the ground?! i sure did give my fair share of paybacks, those days...

today i walked down that same hill (oh, it used to be soooo long... did the water erode the soil away? or were my legs just that short?) and sat on one of the swings--no fighting over who got what swing, or arguing over who should flip it over the bar one time (or two!) to make it higher. It was just me, the breeze, and the sun with a few passing clouds. instead of packed, hard brown dirt with a few grassy patches or sharp wood chips the playground is now filled in with shredded tire pieces--much more comfortable against my bare feet. i kicked off and quickly remembered how to get so high, so fast--the farther i leaned back and the harder i pulled myself back upright, the more height i gained. the first few attempts to soar were fun--and then i had the sudden reminder that i'm not six anymore; my stomach is much farther away from my throat!! oh, the vertigo... i never experienced THAT at six... i would twist the swing as hard as i could after going as high as possible and go crazy (we named that one the 'ham dam from viet-nam... yet i never understood the name, just that it was a lot of fun!). i'm pretty sure if i did that today, the peaceful scene would have been interrupted by gracing the tire-covered playground with my lunch... (oh, that did happen when i was six... but, it's okay for a six year old to toss their cookies after playing too hard!). i leaned back (as far as i dare) and closed my eyes, enjoying the breeze as i went back and forth, listening to the squeak of the chains, reminding my stomach to enjoy the moment and not get too excited. i could hear the cars passing by on the road behind me, the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind, the birds singing to each other... and for a moment, i remembered what it was like to be six.
for a moment.
when the swing slowed down enough for me to jump off (i didn't want to break an ankle jumping off of it, now, would i?), i moved over to the park bench and sat, looking at the swing continuing its back and forth motion. from here, i'm comfortable--this, i can do. at that moment, i realized how sweet it it is to be able to remember--and enjoy the memories of that six year old girl.