Summer memories

Today all I can think about is picnics - blankets spread out on the green grass at the park, half in the shade, half in the sun, my toes reaching into the blades of grass and feeling the warm earth underneath. Watermelon - at the perfect stage, juicy and crisp, no strings in it, definitely lots of seeds, there may or may not be a very unladylike seed spitting contest at this picnic. Maybe some lemonade, or a cold can of Sprite. The sky is so blue that you could almost fall into it, and a few puffy white clouds float around and make funny shapes in the blue expanse above. Across the park, a mom pushes her daughter in the swing, who squeals and giggles as she flies through the air. The nearby creek spills down its bed, making a happy creeky noise as it rushes by. There's a lazy sort of feeling in the air, the kind of feeling that makes you want to lie on your back and stare at the clouds forever.

I was also thinking about my high school friends today. Summer after senior year, playing fugitive every weekend. Dressing all in black, sneaking through fields and bushes and backyards, sometimes hiding under cars and behind garbage cans to avoid being seen. Bonfires and marshmallow roasting, secret circles, basketball, game nights, movies. We all just couldn't wait to grow up and move on, live our own lives, have new experiences.

I kind of miss the old ones sometimes. But life moves on, summer fades to fall, people grow up and move away, and everything changes. Life's just like that, I guess. Enjoy the moments while they last, because soon they'll be gone, and all that's left is a memory, locked deep inside your heart.