Chapter 18
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.