Childhood dreams

I lunged forward summoning up the last little bit of my strength and reached for the green speck in the corner of my vision. This battle had been going on for at least an hour. Originally, there were five of us, but now it was just Kris and me. That green cloth had been evading me, but I was determined to be the victor. It was do or die, now or never.

I died. Kris reached for my tiny ankle and pulled my black sock off just seconds before I reached his foot. The sock war had ended. Kris was still wearing his green sock and the rest of us were defeated and sockless. “You put up a good fight, sis.” My brothers and the other brothers (Kris and Sean) said, trying to ease my battered ego. No one ever expected me to win; I was the youngest by far and the only girl.

We traded Pokémon cards; we camped out in my background; we played king of the hill; we spent hours blowing up tanks on Nintendo 64; we made sheet forts that invaded the entire downstairs. We were kids with a flawless childhood. The five of us invented countless games that didn’t even make sense to anyone but us.

My experiences with my brothers and these two boys shaped the rest of my life. Through them I learned quite a bit about the beauty that God created in life and people. Kris and Sean’s dad was best friends with my dad in college. Growing up, I could barely differentiate between them and my real brothers. We only stayed with them a few times a year, but we made up for that by having fun 100% of the time we were together.

Through our shared experiences, the five of us formed a bond that time and distance cannot break. Females tend to connect mainly through talking, but these relationships taught me how to also connect simply through sharing life and laughter. We could spend five hours doing nothing but play video games and I’d feel like I knew them better than if we had spent a day talking about serious things.

Even though I haven’t seen Sean or Kris in years, I know I can talk to them about any problem and I would trust them with my life. When we finally connect after being apart for a long time, it really is just like we were together yesterday. Kris may finally be taller than me, but in our hearts I’m still six and he’s still nine.

Anyone who is good friends with me will know that I have a huge weak spot for animals. Simply holding a tiny kitten will make my eyes become teary. That love of animals started with Sean and Kris’ two dogs. They had a lively golden retriever named Astro and an almost blind mutt named Fang. I’m actually a cat person now, but as a kid I couldn’t imagine loving any animal more than I loved Astro. Astro would wrestle and hug me, and when my parents told me it was time to go home I’d run back inside to say goodbye to the dogs one more time.

Sean was probably the first guy I ever had a crush on. It was the silly dream of a five-year-old, but it was the world to me then. We both still joke about being meant for each other, but in reality we’re both simply grateful for an amazing friendship. Psychologists talk a lot about how your childhood and family define who you are later in life; I actually believe it. These boys taught me how to have amazing friendships.

I’m so thankful that God gave me memories like these to cherish for the remainder of my life. I look forward to someday in the future watching all of our kids play together and laugh; maybe I’ll buy a golden retriever and maybe our kids will teach us some new games.