I miss life as a grade schooler...summer vacation, koolaid, tuna fish sandwhiches and the slip n' slide. If only my responsibilities could go away for a day and I could be taken back to that world. I can only hope that as a parent I will make sure that my kids enjoy the heck out of their summers. I know my parents helped my brother and I. It only seems like yesterday we where running the big wheels through the big wheel carwash and waiting around for the ice cream truck.

I can smell the hot air, the asphalt and the wet clothes. I can see the trees on my street, how green and alive they are. I can hear the laughter of my friends as they pedal as hard as they can while driving the big wheel over the slip n' slide. I cannot remember what I thought about back then. I know it had nothing to do with the problems of the world, my faith in God, my life decisions or what is wrong with my car. I had a vivid imagination. I was probably thinking that I was going to be whisked off into the land of Narnia that night and ride on the back of Aslan for many years to come. Or I thought that I could build a fort out of pillows and sheets and I would be living in castle. I wish I could get these thoughts back in my head and not have to contend with logic, if only for an hour.

I hope that kids in this day and age have the freedom to dream. I hope that the techno world and "live war" have not taken away their imaginations. I hope that as I drive through the residential areas of this country I see kids playing outside. I hope I see them laughing and screaming because they have nothing on their minds but what they are doing. I do not want to go back to the good ole days. I just want the kids today to have the freedom from fear...if only for a while.

Call me a crazy idealist...or call me something else...but I still want to dream.