Dear Childhood,

I had been 

wrapped

In your warm, comforting arms

For seventeen years

But then, as the minutes ticked away to midnight

I felt your grip loosen

as you prepared

to drop me onto the unsteady ground of adulthood.

11:59

I closed my eyes

And pretended that it was 11:11

And could wish to turn back time

And relive my carefree 

Years of Youth.

Playing tag on the playground with schoolmates 

Giggling at sleepovers over childish secrets

Sticky popsicles and slip n’ slides enjoyed in the summer sun 

My mother reading my favorite bedtime story until I

Drifted to sleep…

My eyes snapped open

12:00

I felt the absence of your presence.

It was a jarring push over a cliff’s edge,

And suddenly I was falling, falling

Past dealing with the rollercoaster of college decisions

Past dancing the night away at prom

Past a nerve-wracking choice that determined the next four years of my life

Past walking across the stage and being handed my diploma

And finally I hit the solid ground. 

I stood and dusted myself off to find that 

I’d landed in an unfamiliar place.

The wind whipped past and whispered

Adulthood.

Childhood, 

I began writing this letter

To beg you

to wrap me in your embrace just a little while longer.

To shield me from this world

So peculiar

without the rose-colored glasses of youth to filter it.

But then,

I put down the pen

And took a step out into 

The foreign world you dropped me into.

I took a deep breath,

And lived.

Childhood was a steadying grip,

But adulthood is the satisfaction

Of successfully walking on my own.

Dear Childhood, 

This letter

Is no longer a plea,

But a farewell

And a thank you.

You were the nest that I rested in for many years

But now,

I am ready to fly.