When did life start to get so hard?

At what point did we go from skinned knees to broken hearts?

Just how long was it before we stopped looking for monsters under our beds, and started finding them in ourselves?

I would give anything to spend just one more moment as a child.

Just to breathe in the fresh air and not feel the weight of everything trying to suffocate me.

Just for my biggest worry to be which friends I am going to play with and how much fun we can squeeze in before the street lights come on.

Just for my tears to be over for not being able to stay up an extra hour to watch my favorite show.

As a child, you take for granted all that is precious in this world.

The love, the encouragement, the endless support.

We do not realize what a gift it is to be taken care of by someone else, to be sheltered from the pain that will demand to be felt in the years to come.

My inner child is kicking and screaming; begging to come back for just one more day.

Growing up means facing all of the hurt, the insecurities, the bitterness of this all-too-cold world.

Being an adult means taking on more stress and responsibility than you ever knew existed.

We all rush to grow up because we have absolutely no idea what's waiting for us on the other side of that door.

I would trade it all just to have some of the things that I was forced to let go of too soon.

I would cherish every second of it.

Just for one more sweet taste of simplicity.