sometimes i want to be a child again more than anything else in the world -to wake up to my dad cooking breakfast every morning, look forward to peanut butter and jelly every lunch (ok, i still do that), and to be tucked in every night.

there was a book my mom and dad used to read to my brother and me when we were little. well there were alot of books -but one in particular is ingrained in my memory -"a day at the park." it's incredibly simple -a sister and brother leave the house with their mom for a day at the park . with a small hand clasped in her right hand, and another in her left, the mom leads her children out the door, down the sidewalk, across several streets, until they come to the park. the brother and sister (they probably had names, but they aren't coming to me) play all afternoon and after splashing in a water fountain, walk home with towels wrapped tightly around their wet swimsuits. when they get home, the kids change into dry clothes and the mom makes hot tomato soup and warm bread with butter. they have cold ice cream for dessert. then they get into warm pajamas and the dad reads them a bedtime story. after the story, the girl is worried that she won't be able to sleep, but her dad assures her that she will fall asleep and dream about her wonderful day at the park. and she does.

it's that simple.

my life was like that a few years ago (ok, so more like a few decades ago...). it was wonderful. but i didn't realize it at the time. i knew life was good, but i didn't stop to think about it. i miss playing with my brother -taking care of him back when i was a couple heads taller than him. we've traded places in that respect, but we still take care of each other. alot has changed since we were little -we don't make massive marble runs, record christian radio shows, or play "kaleb sees you, you're dead." but we still play games and he still hates losing, and we still jump on the trampoline and sing "i'm the winner under the apple tree." we've also matured a bit, therefore we do more mature things -like talk about religion and cs lewis, share our latest music finds, drink black coffee (ok, mine's more like slightly brown milk), and play hide and seek when we go camping. i guess it's an ok trade -just a bit more complicated.

now, no matter how much i miss being a child, i'm going to do a very adult thing and go to bed because i'm tired. if my dad was here, i know he would pray with me and assure me that i would fall asleep and dream of my wonderful day at...school?