Simplicity and change as a child

I remember decision that first rock. We were digging in the woods lavatory my house. The entire neighborhood Alec, Julien, Westley, Blake, Nathaniel, and I. It was a giant pink quartz, the size of a grapefruit. The creases were packed with dirt. Chipping away at the frostbitten ground in November, we began finding more and more rocks a small white crystal, a green gem, a slab of mica, coral, and fossils. We now had a fairly large pile of artifacts in the shoebox nether my bed.I would go and look through and through them, thinking I had found the biggest treasure in the world. I remember Nathaniel saying how wed all be millionaires and the two brothers fighting over what wed spend in on. Did we want a pool for the neighborhood? A new PlayStation? The possibilities were endless, but wed be famous anyway, the kids that discovered it all When we had excavated the last of the rocks, we looked them over to clean out the dirt that had plastered itself into all the cracks and holes. We dec ided to keep it a secret, a cold cardboard box hidden under all the other old school work under my mattress.I remember sawing back and forth against the plywood. Our short-circuit was going to be amazing. My arm was sore and salty sweat speckled my lip. Summer sun is the most unforgiving heat, dry and merciless. I remember the metallike jingling in our pockets of the coins we had scrounged from the junk drawer. We bought some red paint and metal hooks from the hardware store downtown. I remember the kind chuckle the abolish gave us, a bunch of kids counting out all our quarters and dimes. I remember the countless tries it took to throw the ropes over the outstretched arm of that pine tree. I remember the refreshing rush of air, and not feeling solid ground on my calloused and dirty bare feet. I remember years later, seeing the swing lifeless and dangling, a paint chipping, rope rotting, rust infected memory.I remember the numbness, watery eyes, and stuffy nose. I remember the w ay snowflakes looked through the orange light of the street lamp. Let the battle begin. We rushed behind the wall of our castle. Westley, Nathaniel, and I, verse all. Packing the snow together with wet mittens I took an iceball to the lip. I remember the strength it took not to cry. The war began to die down I remember leaning back and falling into the forgiving snow and watching my breaths unblock into soft clouds against the piercing black sky. I remember snowflakes on my eyelashes we were all going to be friends forever.I remember the day Julien moved away. I remember the day Westely started middle school. I remember the day Alec didnt want to come play football. I remember the day Nathaniel had too much homework to go outside. I remember the day I realized the unforgiving nature of era, the inevitability of change, and the pricelessness of simplicity.Everyone gets the, have fun now, cause it wont last forever kid from a sassy grandparent who you dont want to believe. Sure, not hing can last forever, but Ive got plenty of time to be a kid. The memories of simplicity that I hold onto so closely are the things that I appreciate most. They are what construct the skeleton that the layers and complications of my life baffle to. Every day I feel how precious it is to have modesty, clarity, and sincerity. I remember simplicity.