Time Traveling
Dear Self,
Time travel is real
I know what you're thinking
she is crazy
but it is definitely real
it's hard to find though
everyone's time travel is different
mine is in the grass
not just any grass
but peaceful grass
somewhere where the grass whispers to the wind
and that is the only noise
when I find that place I lay there in the grass
and close my eyes
that is when it begins
smell always comes first
I smell the clay that I put on my teachers lamp sizzling
then comes touch
I can reach out and feel the honeysuckles between my fingers
then comes sight
all of their wonderful faces
each of them
my family
not my mom or my dad
or my brother or sister
but my class
back then they looked a little funnier
but so did I
missing teeth, missing shoes
funny haircuts, funny clothes
this is why I time travel
to find those days
the perfect ones
not days that any big specific event happened
but the ones with my best friends at my side as we play
in the grass
I open my eyes and I'm back
back to a different world
one where each of those goofy looking kids
has a plan
not everyone has a specific plan
some have a plan to live from day to day
but it is still a plan
I close my eyes
I smell the cake and punch
I feel the sticky frosting on my mouth
I open my eyes
we are passing around funny looking valentines
we all are smiling with frosting covered faces
then the kid with the goofy blonde bowl cut speaks up
"I'm going to be a policeman."
He looked so very proud with that goofy grin
I open my eyes
Now that boy with the bowl cut has normal hair
but he still has that proud goofy grin
and he doesn't plan to be a policeman anymore
but a mechanical engineer
it's crazy how much we all change and grow
I close my eyes
I smell the bus
not one of my favorite smells
I can feel the bumpy dirt roads throwing our bus around
I open my eyes
I see her smiling
and we are singing
screaming our lungs out
the only child I knew who got moved on the bus for singing too loud
she turned to me catching her breath
"I want to be singer, but I can't sing, so maybe I'll be a baker."
We laughed
I open my eyes
I breath with the laugh still on the end of my breath
that girl has changed her hair color more times than I can count
but she always pulled it off
She doesn't sing as loud in public anymore
but in the car I'm sure it is just as loud
if not louder
She doesn't want to be a singer or a baker anymore
but a cosmetologist
I know she'll be good at it
I close my eyes
I smell freshly cut grass
I feel the grass under my hands and my knees
then when I open my eyes I'm shocked for a moment
a little freckled face girl is smiling at me
but her smile is green
then I realize we are playing like we are horses nibbling on the grass around us
we neigh and stamp at the ground and she looks at me
"Since I can't be a horse I want to play with them always"
we smile and continue our lunch
I open my eyes
I lay there laughing at the image of the girls green teeth
she doesn't eat grass anymore
at least that I know of
but she still has her freckles and she still wants to play with horses always
only she want to get paid to help them
as an Equine Therapist
she's always stuck to one thing and does that one thing the best
I know she will continue to do so
I close my eyes
this time is different
we aren't so little
we aren't so naive
we all are making plans
all trying to make money
trying to choose a future
I open my eyes
that wasn't so long ago
we are those poeple I saw there
grown
my family
I wouldn't change the past for anything
I wouldn't change them for anything
because these are the people
the people I want in my life
forever
I know when we all leave
I will miss them
but I can always find them
in the grass
the peaceful grass
when I close my eyes
Love,
Your Memories