I’ve got a whole treasure trove of summer memories with you. Swimming in the family pool - popping up for air, goggles suctioned to our faces. My hair stuck to my cheeks. You loved diving for treasures at the bottom of the pool. You always did love a challenge. I just wanted to play with you. Dripping wet, we would scarf down snacks- you were always ravenous and brought such gusto to meal time. We used to play Barbies under my bed when we were supposed to be asleep. We would whisper and muffle our laughter. Or we would roll the ball across the hall from our bedrooms until we got caught. You didn’t shoot down my ideas but made them better. We rollerbladed, biked, and swung on many a swing. You had such a hunger to learn, an obsessive nature. I wanted to keep up with you and not get left behind even though I was older than you. Your passions changed over the years and we grew up and drifted apart and I no longer understood your decision making process. But we always found each other when we talked. Sitting side by side, we shared our musings, discoveries. Shared summers became a distant memory, we met up in different seasons. Those were colder times, muddled and sad. I missed the sunshine, belly laughter and all those deep dives into the pool. Life felt like a dripping popsicle back then: fixed in the present, quick sweet tastes. I can’t even remember our last summer together. In days like today, I’m left spinning circles, clutching these bundles of memories, sweating in the heat, wishing you were here to continue to create summer memories with me on your birthday.
