I think one of the greatest parts of my life, which has shaped me into the human being I am today, comes from spending my childhood barefoot under the sun and amongst the tree's. So here's a little flashback to the best day's of your life, the days that only true outside kids can identify with.
Let's Begin:
5:00 am - 6:00 am: You wake up ready to seize the day and to also get a head start on Saturday morning cartoons - because you know, who needs sleep at 8 years old. Not you, that's for sure.
7:00 am: You turn off the Sponge-Bob Squarepants Chocolate episode that you've already seen 20 times and hurry upstairs to put on your usual outside kid garb.
Your staple outfit includes a raggedy T-shirt that changes colors in the sunlight, some really cool soccer shorts that touch the top of your knees, and sometimes you put on your mud-caked kicks (shoes are optional most of the time). Then you rush down stairs, grab a Go-Gurt and sprint out the door to find your friends, before any of them catch whiff that you were watching TV - because being a couch potato is so uncool for an outside kid.
7:30 am: Surprisingly no one is outside yet, so you head next door. You eagerly ring the doorbell 1-8 times and soon your best friends mom appears in the door with a steaming cup of coffee in her hand and an annoyed expression on her face (that you are blissfully unaware of, because again, you're 8).
You say to her in your usual chipper voice, "Hi Mrs. Josie, can Annie come outside and play?" Before you can even finish your inquiry, a familiar face pops up behind her mom, and it's game time. You both eagerly rush out the door to gather up the rest of your homies.8:00 am: The gangs all together, and now you begin to contemplate what trouble you will get into today - because that's what you're known for around the neighborhood and you need to uphold your street cred.
8:30 am: After much contemplation over the endless amount of possibilities, the crew decides on checking out the "magical waterfall," that is rumored to be at the end of the creek in your neighborhood. Due to the fact that your parents would most likely disapprove of your adventure, you all decide to take your fastest form of transportation and get the heck out of dodge before your parents can ask any questions. Everyone hops on their gnarly bikes, which are decked out with baseball cards pinned to the wheels and elegant streamers that cascade out of the handle bars. You all take formation and fly down the steep drive-way like pro's, while feeling like total B.A.'s because the 6 year olds still can't manage to take on big hills like you.
9:00 am: After biking recklessly through perfectly manicured lawns, you arrive to the most glorious part of your neighborhood - the forests edge. Everyone hops off and haphazardly throws their bikes on the ground, because kickstands are only for nerds. Then, the adventure begins as you step into the part of the neighborhood where no adult has stepped before.
10:30 am: At this point, you're covered in mud and scrapes from thorn bushes and your friend Sarah is the only one that's taken a nasty fall into the creek so far. You've finally made it to this infamous waterfall that every kid in the neighborhood has been talking about, but to your disappointment, this so called waterfall is simply a small rapid (if you could even call it that), but hey! There's a really sketchy rope swing that was probably carelessly constructed by a 12 year old and you're all totally going to go for it.... Unless you're chicken.
11:30 am: After you've all done your fair share of risking your lives by swinging over the creek, stomachs are starting to growl and you head back towards the home base. On the way back, you all agree to pester your parents about making picnic lunches, because you simply can't get enough of each other or the great outdoors.
12:45 pm: Operation picnic is a success. Everyone meets up at your friend Annie's treehouse (it's the most tricked out treehouse on the block) to eat the bountiful spread of PB&J's and Capri Sun's.
1:15 pm: In the midst of a profound conversation about which Jonas Brother is the cutest, your friend Jen is suddenly sprayed in the head with a powerful blast of water. You all quickly turn to see who the culprit is, and come to find a small herd of neighborhood boys, armed heavily with nerf super-soakers. Jen let's out an unmistakable battle cry and it's on.
2:45 pm: Both opposing sides are drenched at this point and your gang is almost out of ammo. All hope seems lost, when all of a sudden you hear a faint noise in the distance. Could it be?.... YES! One of the boys hears it as well and screams, "THE ICE CREAM MAN." Both sides drop their weapons and scatter, as you all rush for your piggy banks.
2:50 pm: You've managed to gather 75 cents and make a b-line for the road, just in time. The ice cream man has arrived and brought with him a beautiful array of brain-freezing treats in an unnatural array of colors and flavors. After careful deliberation over the Power Puff Girl Freeze Pop, or the Extra Sour Tear Jerkers Sorbet, you choose the first and devour Bubble's head in minutes. As you all wolf down the cool treats, you wave goodbye to the nice ice-cream man, and silently thank him for restoring peace back to the neighborhood.
3:20 pm: Up-next tackle football. Despite being a girl, you're naturally team captain and the boys respect you. One, because you're one of the oldest and two, because you can easily beat them up since they haven't hit puberty yet.
4:45 pm: Nicky and Jen have gotten into a fight again and this time, it's personal. Fists are flying and colorful language like "butt-head" and "fart-breath" can be heard from houses down. Your dad who was peacefully trimming the bushes, races down to break up the fight, before someone get's a bloody nose like last time (cough, cough, Nicky).
5:30 pm: "LAURAAAA" And that's your cue for dinner. You promise your friends that you will be back, perform your secret hand-shake with each other, and scurry inside to quickly put some food in your body so that you may be aloud to go back outside again, where you belong.
6:30 pm: Everyone meets as planned at the fire hydrant post-dinner and proceeds to round up as many kids as possible for your next event on the schedule. One posse calls to another to say, "hey, do you guys wanna play?" - The universal kid code for "let's get into trouble and if you don't say yes, you're an L-7 Weenie."
7:00 pm: This is when the magic happens. It's dusk, the fireflies are beginning to twinkle and almost every kid in the neighborhood has arrived, ready to play the game of the evening. What will it be tonight? Kick the can? Capture the flag? Man hunt? Monster? Red Rover? Or maybe a simple game of Kick Ball? After a lot of shouting and some wimpy kid getting their feelings hurt and running home, you all finally decide on a game. It's capture the flag.
7:15 pm: Captains have been chosen, and although you're not a captain, you're chosen 3rd because you're known for your speed around these parts. Once the teams have been set and the flags have been properly identified, you guys split up to hide the flags. Your team got lucky over a quick game of rock-paper-scissors and you've claimed the back-yard (the best place for hiding a flag).
8:30 pm: You've been playing for over an hour at this point and the score board is tied, with both teams having 4 wins. All of the pressure rests on your main crew's shoulders (because you guys are obviously the best on the team). The perfect opportunity arises and you strike - Sarah, Jen, Annie and yourself take formation and you rush them. Quickly, you spot the flag, hanging from a tree (psssh ameteurs), and make a mad dash for it. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Nicky sprinting towards your pack. You understand that if he tags you, and puts you all in jail, then the game is over. You will undoubtedly lose.
You scream, "watch out!" Annie, who has spotted him as well, heroically turns and ferociously takes him down in a perfectly executed tackle.
The moment Nicky is down, your ride or dies seize the chance, grab the flag and rush to your side. You cross the line in pretend-slo-mo, because your adversaries have been left in the dust. Victory is yours and you are met on the other side to exchange fist and chest bumps with the rest of your cheering teammates.
9:00 pm: Right on cue, the streetlights flicker on and only a few moments later, it sounds as if a symphony of parents are calling for their kids. The homies and you exchange an eye-roll as well as a giggle or two and then run-towards home, while calling back with a promise to see each other tomorrow.
As you skip up the steps towards the inside-world, you look down to see your feet and hands are covered in mud, indicating that it was a successful day. In fact, it was the best day ever, and you don't expect anything less from tomorrow.
