Life. Perfect.

Life. Perfect.

On an average night, tonight, during the summer it is late dinners after baseball games, dogs barking constantly at the four year old children playing in their own yard. The state bird, er bug/mosquito, is pleasantly around at all times and just every once in a while… the evening is perfect. In these perfect nights exists the “grass on the other side”, the “this is how the 1% only wish they could live”, it’s the “if they could only see us now”… this perfect evening of family, friends, laughter, brings what many take for granted… life. Pure and simple life… perfect. After the hours that the stalkers, er bill collectors can call… before the local fuzz would say everyone is too loud… and just at the right time – all is perfect. Life. The hotdogs on the grill, sprinklers, bug spray, countless water bottles opened and of course the shrieking of children as they play in the yard. That laughter that exudes the utmost parts of our hearts that as adults we forget until these amazing little creatures remind us…  Life. Perfect.

Remember being small? Remember that the biggest challenge of the day was if mom or dad would let you get a double scoop instead of single scoop at the local ice cream shop – that had real ice cream? When playing outside meant playing…like if there was a mud puddle not played in you’d get put in the fake jail made up of the crap in your yard. Remember when digging for treasure resulted in one of your siblings trying to dig to China? When swing sets were handmade and didn’t have special colors on them and if you hurt yourself on them it was a simple tetanus shot and you are back at it… when jamming out was to whatever was not on your parents radio… the am/fm kind. Not the ipod kind. When sunsets at the lake were the most peaceful place, but you didn’t know it then…. But think back… right now… that kid that you see sitting on the dock… you. Life. Perfect.

Remember when you got your first cassette player, the large batteries, the first “album”… er cassette you bought.. what was it… think back. Remember getting it and opening it and listening to it the first time – how much did you jam out with your big ole headphones that probably did so much damage to your eardrums… but it didn’t matter…. In that moment… you were invisible. Life. Perfect.

What about the first time you drove your parent’s car. The very first time, not the first time they know of.. Please we were all there. The first ride with your friends on back country roads that had a speed limit of 25… and you went 55. Remember pulling up to the cool hang out spot in town with your friends in tow… Life. Perfect.

Remember when your heart broke the first time.. yep… everyone does… remember the song/ballad that was popular then? Yep, Kenny Loggins or Chicago probably sang it… or Tiffany. How did you get through that time? Seriously… it was the worst ever… nope. Because now on this perfect evening of summer with children laughing around and the smell of bonfires and bug spray and grilling… that first heartbreak is a million miles away… but you still remember the feeling and it doesn’t hurt… it feels more like a connection to who you were before you became an adult and forgot. Your real self. Life. Perfect.

Anticipating the sunny days and being angry at the rain. Seeing a big thunderstorm coming or watching until the last possible time before taking cover… don’t pretend… we all do it. Remember the last storm? Do you remember what the clouds looked like? Can you describe them? If not, next time make a mental note to take a picture… so you can describe it in detail… the clouds are bigger and tell stories. Stories that will connect you to who you have been. Life. Perfect.

Remember when the coolest thing was to have posters and cool hair? Wait, that’s changed? When Living on a Prayer wasn’t said at church… it was yelled and screamed at the top of our lungs… when getting Jesse’s number wasn’t just a task to do… it was a purpose, a drive, a calling to unify with every person around you to sing as loud as you could… Life. Perfect.

To the youth playing and destroying my front yard, the minions that believe their room is clean because they stuffed everying including banana peels under their bed, when they secretly hit each other to see who will get yelled at first… to the youth who think that ipods and ds’s are impenetrable and replaceable, that think Psy is the coolest singer ever (while of course we know that to be Skynard, Hendrix, Bon Jovi, and Ozzy) To our youth who simply would like ice cream for dinner and on their birthday – for breakfast… When we make jokes that they just don’t get it.. that money doesn’t grow on trees, that they should just wait until they have kids and then they’ll understand… When they hear they should turn down the music or it will hurt their ears, that they should be nicer to their brother, when washing dishes is just not good enough and mom hollars. To the children who are told to calm down and just act their age… Life. Perfect.

Irony is… you were them. And now… just maybe once today… be their age for just a little bit… and let them see you. Somewhere in this beautiful summer night with baseball, friends, grilling, and bug spray… remember that kid sitting on the dock looking at the sunset, trying to catch a fish or a frog or a girl… remember that kid who was so excited for ice-cream… remember that girl who was so excited to be outside and play with her parents because they stopped and spent time… be those kids. For a bit… Life…. Perfect.

CassieAnneClaire ©