little round mirrors

everything is just so darn simple when you're a kid.

i remember how an autumn morning used to be a brisk walk to school, stepping on dry leaves and twigs to hear them crunch underfoot. or finding piles of neatly raked leaves to destroy with one swift kick.

how lunchtime used to mean forty minutes of alligator, or cops and robbers, handball, redass, doctor, soccer baseball, football, basketball or finding out who was kissing by the portables (or possibly even being that person).

how afternoons weren't spent wasted watching people renovate their houses on television when in reality i could just walk downstairs and see the real thing -- but instead were full of hours playing tag at the park (including its various permutations, such as lava tag, freeze tag, et al) or walking home with friends and observing girls begin to learn the concept of "gossip".

how trick-or-treat actually meant it was the chance to get a crapload of free candy -- not worry about whether or not you bought some to give away.

and i love how you get lots of "first" moments.

first report card.
first sports team.
first science project left undone.
first kiss.

i'm starting to realize life is all about living for firsts. and when you start feeling like it's all been done, is when you should start to take a long hard look at what you're doing. maybe not knowing where things are going, but at the very least that they're going.

i must say it's kind of exciting.

kind of like the first time you ever hit someone in the face with a snowball.