My younger sister has always been
my go to person when I get bored. In elementary school, we would come home and
make up games to play all night long. One of our favorites was our wooden swing
set. Our dad built it before we were born. Our backyard was lined with trees.
It was very open and free to run or do whatever wacky game we came up with. The
swing set had three swings -- two regular ones and one baby seat – and a yellow
slide. Behind the swing set we had monkey bars. Everything was a competition
between us at that age. It was always about Who
can run the fastest? Who can do the monkey bars the fastest and how many bars
can you skip? Who can swing the highest? Of course being the older sister,
I always had to win. Our parents hated that everything was a competition. We
always made them the judges, but as parents how do you pick a winner? There was
always screaming and laughing that echoed through the openness of the yard.
During
the summer bike rides were a favorite choice of activity. Our driveway is unusually
long. But we loved it! It was half paved and then half gravel as it went down
farther. The house off to the side, more so on the paved half of the driveway.
My sister and I would, once again, race down the driveway to see who could go
the fastest. The wind blew in our faces as we got a breeze along our clothes.
In
middle school things changed a bit. My sister and I still played outside
together a lot and our parents still joined most of the time; more so dad than
mom. Fall was my favorite time to go outside. After we got our homework and
while mom would be making dinner, me, my dad, and sister would go out in the
cool weather and play either football or basketball. My sister, being more
athletic, was much better at football. All I wanted to do was make up fake
plays and get touchdowns. I could’ve cared less about defense. My sister went
along with it most of the time, even though she always complained about me not
trying.
When
mom would finally call us in for dinner we would always complain and ask for
five more minutes. We just wanted to be out there hearing the rustling of the
orange and red leaves as the wind blew. We eventually had to go in, though. And
when we did, we came in with red noses and toasty hands – if we had remembered
to wear gloves that day.
Now
that this is my third year in high school, I don’t spend too much time in my
yard anymore. It’s not very often that I really get to hang out with my sister
or dad and mess around like we are little kids again either. Obviously we have
different interests and ways of entertaining ourselves now that we are older,
but we don’t ever have nearly as much fun as we used to just messing around.
Now,
most of the time I spend in my yard is spent on bonfires with my friends.
During the summer it’s mostly just to lay out and tan. I like spending time
with my friends and my yard is a great open area to do it. But sometimes I miss
just hanging out with my sister doing kid things. I miss making up random games
because we had time to waste.
I
guess we all have to grow up sometime, though. Even though my sister and I have
a lot of different interests now, I still like to spend time with her. We find
different things to do. We still shoot hoops every once in a while and play in
the snow in the winter, but it’s definitely not the same as it used to be. I
will always treasure my childhood and always thank my sister for being a part
of it and for being a great friend to go through it with.
(691 words)
No comments:
Post a Comment