Childhood

Oh, How We Grow

My name is Joshua James Hopkins, but you can just call me by my little name Josh. I’m six years old and that is old enough for me! Soon I will be big enough to drive like my big brother Jonathan. Jonathan don’t like walking, but I do! Me and my friend Caroline always walk or run to the creek at the end of our street.

Our walk-shoes (mommy calls them that) go crack crack over the leaves and snap snap the sticks in the way of us to the creek! When we get to the waters we skip the rocks I love that! Caroline always skips them farther than me, but that’s okay, I practice a lot while she’s gone to her daddy’s house, but its not as fun without her. Plop Plop Ploosh go the rocks! I love the rocks on our sand, they are always so smooth and nice in our hands!

“Here I go!” Caroline yells and throws her rock. It’s a perfect throw like always, for skips!

“My turn!” I yell, but mine only goes three, and bounces on the other shore, but I smile and yell, “I win!”

“What? How do you win?” Caroline would say, really mad.

“I hit the other side!” I smile.

“So? That don’t mean you win! I got more bounces!” She yelled again. She still seemed kinda mad, but it was still funny.

“But I hit the other side! That’s way cooler!” Girls never understand, but Caroline don’t care anymore. She thinks she won. Silly girl.

We start jumping over to the other side, and I can make it most of the time. But sometimes we don’t, but it’s still fun. Our mommys always get frustrated, not mad, when we come home wet.  Mommy never gets mad at us, she says, she just gets “frustrated”. What does frustrated mean? I guess it means mad, but not mad. Our mommys are smarter than us so far, but I’m only six! Me and Caroline are the smartest in our class, besides that Dora F. Fletcher girl. Shes crazy smart. She already knows how to spell trampuleeen right.

But we love getting wet. Its the best part of going to the creek. Its cold like the ice in my freezer, and the sand sticks to our feet after, but its still fun! I love going to the creek.

And before I say bye, I love Caroline. But you can never tell anyone! Its a super secret! If a girl found out that I loved her right now she would think I am crazy! My mommy says its too early to love girls, but daddy says to go for it. He always thinks Im right. I love my daddy and mommy. But I love Caroline almost as much! We are getting married soon I think, we talk about it alot. But we have never said that we loved each other! That would mean a ton of cooties! Eww! But you can never ever tell! Pinky promise right now!

 

25 years later:

Life has an odd way of bringing you happiness. One day, you’ll be doing everything that your friends say are the best parts of life, but it isn’t fulfilling in the slightest. I don’t think there is any better way to feel truly happy than going back to the roots of what made you overjoyed and fulfilled in the past.

 

Hand in hand, we walk through the woods, two little kids running in front of us. They run and scream through the woods, snapping leaves and sticks with every step. Nostalgia makes both of us smile and laugh.

“Well, Mister Hopkins, I bet I can still skip farther than you,” Caroline laughed, her beautiful voice bouncing off of the trees in the way that I adored. The sun radiated off of the wedding ring I had finally bought her, though the secret words etched on the inside remained hidden, the conquered fear of mine: “I love you.”

“Miss Hopkins,  I highly doubt it,” I countered playfully. She let go of my hand and grabbed the nearest stone and skipped it. Four, the perfect throw as always.

“My turn!” I yell, voice echoing from the past. But it is no use, she can still skip farther than I can.